Group Theses

Alexandra Kathryn Kanani Stapley, ""Vampire Plastics": An Investigation of Poly(olefin sulfone) Depolymerization and Its Dust Mitigation Abilities" (Masters Thesis, 2024). Full Text PDF
Tanner Rydalch, "Stability and oxidation of Al mirrors coated with Xe-passivated LiF thin films" (Senior Thesis, 2024). Full Text PDF
Michael Greenburg, "Computationally Modeling Rough Circular Conducting Mirrors" (Senior Thesis, 2024). Full Text PDF
Mara Dille, "A Synthesis: Comparing and contrasting my experience in the two areas of scientific/ technical writing and reflections on classroom learning" (Capstone, 2023). Full Text PDF
Kendall Mitchell, "Slowing of Oxidation for Aluminum Thin-Films through use of High-Volume Oxygen Absorbers" (Senior Thesis, 2023). Full Text PDF
Isaiah Galland, "At-wavelength Reflectance Measurements for Aluminum Mirrors in the Far Ultraviolet" (Senior Thesis, 2023). Full Text PDF
Donovan Smith, "Retardation of the oxidation of aluminum thin films in low-oxygen and cryogenic environments" (Capstone, 2023). Full Text PDF
Collin Bradford, "Automating Nuclear Reactor Modeling for Simulation Using OpenMC and Python" (Capstone, 2023). Full Text PDF
Alex Gallion, "Photodegradation of Self-Immolating Polymers as a Potential Solution to Optical Scattering" (Senior Thesis, 2023). Full Text PDF
Ed Krzymowski, "Electron Cryotomography of Bacterial Secretion Systems" (Capstone, 2022). Full Text PDF
Winston McElwain, "National Vision Optics Lab Order of operations manual" (Capstone, 2022). Full Text PDF
Merlin Hart, "Retarding the Growth of Oxide on Aluminum Thin-Films" (Senior Thesis, 2022). Full Text PDF
Brooke Croxall, "The Indices of Refraction of SiO₂ and AlF₃ in the XUV Determined from Simultaneous Reflection and Transmission Measurements on XUV Diodes" (Capstone, 2022). Full Text PDF
Devin Lewis, "Degradation of Lithium Fluoride Mirror Coatings in Humid Environments" (Senior Thesis, 2021). Full Text PDF
Ethan Edwards, "Modeling Surface Imperfections on Diffraction Gratings for the Extreme Ultraviolet" (Senior Thesis, 2021). Full Text PDF
Gabe Richardson, "Computational Development of a Miniature Quantum Dot Spectrometer for Use in Space" (Senior Thesis, 2021). Full Text PDF
Logan Page, "“Stainless Uranium” - Oxidation Prevention in Uranium-Niobium Alloys" (Senior Thesis, 2021). Full Text PDF
Jenny Kang, "Red/green Colorblindness Simulation: Creating a Colorblind Friendly Environment" (Capstone, 2021). Full Text PDF
Kenan Fronk, "Storage of Al/AlF3 Thin-Film Mirrors in 327 K Oven" (Capstone, 2021). Full Text PDF
James Adams, "Design and Manufacturing of Control System for Monochromator" (Capstone, 2020). Full Text PDF
James Erikson, "Photoluminescence Lifetime as an Indicator of Temperature in Materials" (Senior Thesis, 2020). Full Text PDF
Nick Steil, "Connecting Physics and Finance" (Capstone, 2019). Full Text PDF
Daniel Jones, "Photometric and Polarimetric Signatures of Geosynchronous Satellites" (Senior Thesis, 2019). Full Text PDF
Alexandra Davis, "Oxidation of Aluminum Under Various Thicknesses of Aluminum Fluoride" (Senior Thesis, 2018). Full Text PDF
Jesse Richmond, "Surface-Atmosphere Interactions with Ultraviolet Light on Mars" (Senior Thesis, 2018). Full Text PDF
Margaret Miles, "Evaporated Aluminum Fluoride as a Barrier Layer to Retard Oxidation of Aluminum Mirrors" (Masters Thesis, 2017). Full Text PDF
Spencer Willett, "Making aluminum shine again, removing polymers used to protect aluminum from oxidization" (Senior Thesis, 2017). Full Text PDF
Stephanie Thomas, "Preventing Oxidation of Aluminum Mirrors with Cadmium and Zinc Barriers" (Senior Thesis, 2017). Full Text PDF
Spencer Thevenin, "Effects of Roughness on Reflection of Monochromatic Light" (Senior Thesis, 2017). Full Text PDF
Benjamin Smith, "Reflectance Measurements of Two Thin Film Materials in the UV" (Senior Thesis, 2015). Full Text PDF
Brandon McKeon, "Characterization of Silicon Dioxide Thin Film Deposition" (Senior Thesis, 2015). Full Text PDF
Cody Petrie, "Determining thin film roughness with EUV reflection" (Senior Thesis, 2014). Full Text PDF
Liz Scott, "Measuring the Index of Refraction of Y2O3 in the Extreme Ultraviolet" (Senior Thesis, 2014).
Collin Brown, "Infiltration of CNT forests by Atomic Layer Deposition for MEMS Applications" (Senior Thesis, 2014). Full Text PDF
Joshua Marx, "Determining Surface Roughness Using Extreme Ultraviolet LIght" (Senior Thesis, 2014). Full Text PDF
Jason Kyle Anderson, "Developing Atomic Layer Deposition Techniques of Tungsten on Carbon Nanotube Microstructures" (Senior Thesis, 2014). Full Text PDF
Jordan Bell, "Thickness Uniformity Of Uranium Oxide Films Sputtered While Undergoing Planetary Motion" (Senior Thesis, 2013). Full Text PDF
James Schwab, "Investigations of the Causes of Expansion for Yttrium Oxide Films" (Capstone, 2013). Full Text PDF
Stuart Harper, "Statistical Analysis of Noise From Solid Rocket Motors" (Senior Thesis, 2012). Full Text PDF
Gregory Hart, "Correcting for Reflection Attenuation in the Extreme Ultraviolet Due to Surfce Roughness" (Senior Thesis, 2012). Full Text PDF
Richard Hansen, "Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Carbon-Nanotube-Templated Metallic Microstructures" (Honors Thesis, 2012). Full Text PDF
Zephne Vaterlaus, "" (Senior Thesis, 2012).
Samuel Keller, "" (Senior Thesis, 2011).
Alison Wells, "Determining The Cause Of Metal Oxide Film Growth Due To Exposure To Vacuum Ultraviolet Light" (Senior Thesis, 2011). Full Text PDF
Alex Rockwood, "Modeled Roughness Of A Sputtered Surface And Its Effects On Extreme Ultraviolet Reflection" (Senior Thesis, 2011).
Anthony Willey, "Increasing Plasma Intensity in a Hollow Cathode Plasma Source with a Magnetic Field" (Senior Thesis, 2010).
Devon Mortensen, "Determining The Cause Of Yttria Film Growth Due To Exposure To Vacuum-Ultraviolet Light" (Senior Thesis, 2010). Full Text PDF
Alex Rockwood, "" (Senior Thesis, 2010).
Michael Rasmussen, "" (Senior Thesis, 2009).
Jon Brame, "Selectively Grown Silicon Nanowires For Transistor Devices" (Senior Thesis, 2009). Full Text PDF
Joseph Muhlestein, "Optical Constants for Y₂O₃ in the Extreme Ultraviolet" (Senior Thesis, 2009). Full Text PDF
W. Todd Doughty, "Roughness Correction Model For Reflection From Perfectly Conducting Scatterers" (Senior Thesis, 2008). Full Text PDF
Elisabeth Strein, "Studying And Eliminating Adventitious Carbon Contamination On Silicon Wafers" (Senior Thesis, 2008). Full Text PDF
Bryan Hicks, "Diode Properties of Nanotube Networks" (Capstone, 2008). Full Text PDF
Guillermo Antonio Acosta, "Scandium Oxide Thin Films and Their Optical Properties in the Extreme Ultraviolet" (PhD Dissertation, 2007). Full Text PDF
Robert Gillis, "Determining The Extreme Ultraviolet Constants Of Thoria By Spectral Ellipsometry." (Capstone, 2007). Full Text PDF
Amy Grigg, "Oxidation Effects On The Optical Constants Of Heavy Metals In The Extreme Ultraviolet" (Honors Thesis, 2007). Full Text PDF
Marie Stellman, "Improvement Of Automation For Collection Of Reflectance Vs. Angle Measurements" (Senior Thesis, 2007).
Marian Adamson, "Detection Of Trace Metal Contaminants In Model Biological Tissue With Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy" (Senior Thesis, 2007). Full Text PDF
Jacqualine Jackson, "Determining The Refractive Index Of Scandium Oxide In The Euv Using Kramers-Kronig On Thin-Film Transmission Data" (Honors Thesis, 2007). Full Text PDF
Elise Martin, "Surface-Roughness Corrections To Extreme Ultraviolet Thin-Film Reflectance Measurements" (Senior Thesis, 2007). Full Text PDF
Jedediah Edward Jensen Johnson, "Computationally Modeling the Effects of Surface Roughness on Soft X-Ray Multilayer Reflectors" (Masters Thesis, 2006). Full Text PDF
S. Andrew Ning, "Creation of an Intermediate Environment and Utilizing Switchable Microwave Absorbent Material to Aid in Performing Work on Mars" (Honors Thesis, 2006).
Jeffery Hallstrom, "Mirror Designer User’s Guide: Using a Genetic Algorithm to Design Multilayer Mirrors" (Capstone, 2005). Full Text PDF
Nicole Brimhall (Farnsworth), "Thorium-Based Mirrors in the Extreme Ultra Violet Optical Application of Uranium Thin Film Compounds for the Extreme Ultraviolet and Soft X-Ray Region" (Honors Thesis, 2005). Full Text PDF
William Ray Evans, "Determining Optical Constants for ThO2 Thin Films Spluttered under Different Bias Voltages from 1.2 to 6.5 eV by Spectroscopic Ellipsometry" (Honors Thesis, 2005).
Guillermo Antonio Acosta, "Developing a Technique for measuring Thickness of Thin Films, From 5 to 15 Nanometers, Using Atomic Force Microscopy " (Masters Thesis, 2004).
Jedediah Edward Jensen Johnson, "Thorium Based Mirrors for High Reflectivity in the EUV" (Honors Thesis, 2004).
Richard Sandberg, "Optical Applications of Uranium Thin-Film Compounds for the Extreme Ultraviolet and Soft X-Ray Region" (Senior Thesis, 2004).
Luke Bissell, "Determining Ruthenium's Optical Constants in the Spectral Range 11-14 NM" (Senior Thesis, 2004).
Paul Archer, "Determining Favorable Conditions for Endolithic Growth: UV Protection and Desiccation Prevention" (Senior Thesis, 2004).
Marie Urry, "Determining Optical Constants of Uranium Nitride Thin Films in the Extreme Ultraviolet (1.6-35 NM)" (Senior Thesis, 2004).
Kristi Adamson, "Determining Chemical Composition of Sputtered Uranium Oxide Thin Films through X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy" (Senior Thesis, 2004).
Matthew McDonald, "Finding Optical Constants of Uranium Oxide Mirrors Using Fortran" (Senior Thesis, 2003).
Ross Robinson, "Removing Contaminates from Silicon Wafers to Facilitate EUV Optical Characterization" (Senior Thesis, 2003).
Ryan Camacho, "Microstructural Analysis of Copper Thin Films for Characterization of Stress-Induced Voiding Mechanisms" (Senior Thesis, 2003). Full Text PDF
Elke Jackson, "Rectifying Synchrotron and Monochromator Measurement Differences and Monochromator Improvements" (Senior Thesis, 2003).
Danelle Elaine Brown, "Atomic Granularity and Molecular Optics Computational Studies of Atomic Structure Effects in the EUV and Soft X-Ray" (Senior Thesis, 2003).
Shannon Lunt, "Determining the Indices of Refration of Reactively Sputered Uranium Dioxide Thin Films from 46 to 584 Anstroms" (Masters Thesis, 2002).
Fabian Thomas Walter, "Obtaining Soft X-Ray Constants Across the 2P Edge of Fe in Thin Films by Resonant Magnetic Scattering Experiments of Polarized Soft X-Rays" (Senior Thesis, 2002).
Ryan Robert Anderson, "Focusing Optics with a Constant Angle Grazing Incidence Spectrograph for Spatian and Spectral Resolution of Capilary Discharge Plasmas" (Senior Thesis, 2002).
Matthew B Squires, "The Measurment (58.4-164.0 nm) and Analysis (40.0- 600.0 nm) of the Atom Scattering Factors of Diamond and Graphite " (Masters Thesis, 2001).
Joseph S. Choi, "In Situ Ellipsometry of Surfaces in an Ultrahigh Vacuum Thin Film Deposition Chamber" (Honors Thesis, 2001).
David Paul Balogh, "Student Attitudes and Performance in an Online General Education Physical Science Course " (Masters Thesis, 2001).
Matthew Byron Crookston, "Spatial Measurements of a Capillary Discharge Plasma with a Toroidal Mirror and a Grazing Incident Spectrograph" (Senior Thesis, 2001).
Cort Johnson, "Developing an Improved Extreme Ultraviolet Filter" (Senior Thesis, 2001).
Cynthia Mills, "Multi-Angle Reflectance Measurements in the EUV" (Honors Thesis, 2001).
David Toone Oliphant, "Characterization of Uranium, Uranium Oxide and Silicon Multilayer Thin Films" (Masters Thesis, 2000). Full Text PDF
Derek Hullinger, "Characterization and Enhancement of a Transmission Line Driven Capillary Discharge " (Masters Thesis, 2000).
Robert K. Bradford, "Characterization of Pi-Proton Events Producing Charged Tracks and Four Gammas" (Senior Thesis, 1999).
Matthew B. Squires, "On Determining the Optical Constants of Sputtered U and a-Si at 304 and 484 Å" (Honors Thesis, 1999).
Shannon Lunt, "The Use of Genetic Algorithms in Multilayer Mirror Optimization" (Honors Thesis, 1999). Full Text PDF
David Oliphant, "Scalar Wave Scattering from a Clinder with Dirichlet Boundary Conditions Unsiong High-Order Basis Plynomials" (Senior Thesis, 1998).
Pavel Leonidovich Brovkin, "The Physics of Low-Capacitance JFETs" (Masters Thesis, 1998).
Christopher Blair Crawford, "Spectroscopic Investigations of Soft X-Ray Amplification in a Capillary Discharge" (Masters Thesis, 1998).
Adam Fennimore, "Morphology and Oxidation of U/Al and UN/Al Multilayer MIrrors" (Honors Thesis, 1998).
Renee George, "High-Order Basis Functions on Wires" (Honors Thesis, 1997).
Gregory B. Thompson, "Reactive Gas Sputtering of Lithium Compound Thin Films" (Senior Thesis, 1996).
Ming Cai, "The Characterization of Mo/Si Soft X-Ray Multilayers by Raman Spectrpscopy and Other Techniques" (PhD Dissertation, 1993).
Fang Yuan, "Characterization of Boron Films Prepared by Chemical Vapor Deposition and their Applications in X-Ray Imaging" (PhD Dissertation, 1991).
Cheryl Barnett Davis, "Deep-Level Photoluminescience of ZNxCd1-xTe" (Masters Thesis, 1991).

Theses, Captstones, and Dissertations

Stability and oxidation of Al mirrors coated with Xe-passivated LiF thin films (by Tanner Rydalch)

The upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) by NASA needs to be able to make observations as far into the Lyman ultraviolet (LUV) range of the electromagnetic spectrum as possible. Because of its high plasma frequency, aluminum (Al) offers the best reflectance in the LUV, and thus HWO’s mirrors will be coated with Al. However, aluminum oxide (Al2O3) is opaque to the LUV, and thus a build up of Al2O3 sets the reflectance of an Al surface in the LUV to near 0. To prevent this, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has proposed protecting an Al-coated mirror with a thin film of lithium fluoride (LiF), passivated with XeF2. However, LiF has not yet been shown to protect an Al surface from oxidation, and its stability has only been tested in environments similar to a standard clearn room. Thus, we took test mirrors of Al-coated silicon wafers protected by a thin film of LiF, passivated with XeF2 (XeLiF) and stored them in various environments controlling for temperature and humidity. We characterized their aging over three months. We find that XeLiF is stable over a period of three months in cool (T = 21°C) and cold (T = 3°C) environments for humidity levels of up to 82%. Test mirrors stored in a heated environment (T = 60°C), with any relative humidity were shown to degrade. We also show that oxidation of Al surfaces is retarded according to the thickness of a XeLiF films, and that refrigerated environments (T = 3°C) further retard this oxidation.

Computationally Modeling Rough Circular Conducting Mirrors (by Michael Greenburg)

A program was created to model the effects of surface roughness on reflectance from circular conducting surfaces. Despite tests indicating a correct computational model, ill-conditioned surface impedance matrices mean that the results can’t be trusted.

A Synthesis: Comparing and contrasting my experience in the two areas of scientific/ technical writing and reflections on classroom learning (by Mara Dille)

This report is a synthesis of my experiences in the applied physics program preparing to enter a career in science communication. I compare my experiences in academic writing and professional writing to my experiences in my physics classes. For academic and professional writing, I go through how I was hired in the positions, my main responsibilities, and what I learned. My positions in academic writing included being a writer in the dean’s office in CPMS, being a writing tutor in the Research and Writing Center and being an intern for the technical writing company Niche. For most of these jobs, I learned how to be independent, how to talk to scientists, how to collaborate with others, and how to write well. I then synthesize these experiences and compare them to my academic training, noting that I received a lack of training in a competitive news environment, and a lack of training in searching out my own ‘beat’ for science stories. I compare my professional training to the academic training I received and note that I feel very prepared to tackle complex scientific issues, and confident in my ability to belong in a male-dominated science environment. I then advise future students on a potential roadmap for those that are interested in pursuing a similar path, such as taking many science classes, and participating in research. I also advise future students to seek internships sooner rather than later.

Slowing of Oxidation for Aluminum Thin-Films through use of High-Volume Oxygen Absorbers (by Kendall Mitchell)

Aluminum is a great potential material for thin-film mirrors in space telescopes as it has a high reflectance range. However, when aluminum oxidizes, the reflectance range no longer includes light beyond ~120 nm wavelengths as the reflectivity drops below 5%. In order to maximize reflectance in the ultraviolet and open potential data such as Lyman series lines, there needs to be a way to keep that high reflectance range. This research explores potential storage environments that slow the oxidation of thin aluminum films through use of oxygen absorbers, where the film and oxide thicknesses are tracked through use of ellipsometry. Results show that 3000 cubic centimeters (cc) of oxygen absorbers can slow the oxidation of aluminum samples by 3.6 times, 6000 ccs by 3.0 times, 9000 ccs by 2.4 times.

At-wavelength Reflectance Measurements for Aluminum Mirrors in the Far Ultraviolet (by Isaiah Galland)

Aluminum is a useful material for broadband mirrors due to its high reflectance across many wavelengths, including the far-ultraviolet. Its high reflectance in the far-ultraviolet makes it a promis- ing candidate for use in the next generation of space telescopes. However, oxidation of aluminum poses a problem because it dramatically reduces aluminum reflectance in the far-ultraviolet. One potential solution is thin film fluoride coatings on the aluminum mirrors, though it is difficult to test these mirrors for FUV reflectance as FUV light is difficult to produce and is absorbed in the atmosphere. Here a method is developed for obtaining at-wavelength reflectance measurements using a plasma as the light source, a monochromator, and vacuum chamber. Reflectance was measured, though the values were lower than expected. The method requires further developement to acquire reliable measurements.

Retardation of the oxidation of aluminum thin films in low-oxygen and cryogenic environments (by Donovan Smith)

Aluminum is the best choice of materials for coating broadband mirrors. Comparative studies of optical instruments containing aluminum-coated mirrors can be challenging because aluminum oxidizes so quickly in air. Fluoride capping layers have been used to prevent oxidation, but they also decrease the range of high reflectance in the far UV. Aluminum’s rapid oxidation is an obstacle to making successive, reproducible measurements, making joint work between laboratories more difficult. In this experiment we studied the effects of storage in cryogenic (liquid nitrogen, hexane, and liquid oxygen) and low-oxygen (dry ice and argon) on the retardation of the oxidation of the aluminum mirrors. We observed that all storage conditions that we tested slowed oxidation by two orders of magnitude. While more work is needed to quantify the retardation effects more specifically, especially for hexane and argon, our data suggests that any of these environments could prove useful in mitigating aluminum oxidation during storage.