TiNi shape memory alloy has been recently investigated for use in micro actuators because of the high power to volume ratio. Conventional sputtering methods, such as RF and DC sputtering and magnetron sputtering, have previously been used by other workers in order to deposit TiN…
The influence of ordering on the structure of vanadium carbon alloys has been studied using electron microscopy and electron diffraction. Within the nominally cubic (rocksalt) phase field of the vanadium carbon system non-stoichiometry occurs by the formation-. of-carbon vacanci…
Single crystals of the binary and pseudobinary compoimds RAlg and RxRx'1-xAl2, where R and R' are rare-earth metals, have been grown by the Czochralski technique. Measurements of the magnetostrictions and anisotropies of disc-shaped samples of the compounds GdAl2, Gd0.98 Tbg0.02…
Growing concern about the world's future energy resources has led to an interest in neutronic behaviour in proposed fusion reactor materials. In this case the neutron slowing down spectra in lithium fluoride are examined at various distances from the neutron source. From the sev…
We have used data from the third and fourth science runs of the laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors LIGO and GEO600 to produce upper limits on the emission of gravitational waves from a selection of known neutron stars. Two different emission mechanisms are looked…
This thesis describes the development of a methodology to determine large-scale and meso-scale atmospheric dispersion patterns. The research is only concerned with outdoor exposure to atmospheric pollutants and aims to identify pollution sources using dispersion modelling with t…
A study has been made of the influence of impurities on the flow stress of melt-grown magnesium oxide single crystals. The state of dispersion of the transition metal impurities chosen -iron, titanium 9 vanadium and chromium - was varied by heat treatment at temperatures up to 2…
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a modern, non-invasive imaging technique in biomedical research and medical diagnostics. It was initially developed for clinical applications in ophthalmology, providing high-resolution, cross-sectional images of the retina, retinal nerve fi…
In the past decades, the study of nanotechnology has brought in tremendous progress to the development of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC) and many advanced catalyst approaches have been developed. However, many of these still remain at ‘test-tube’ level and have not been i…
We develop a novel technique that allows us to directly probe the thermodynamics of the two dimensional limit of the nearest neighbour square lattice clock model. It is a process that uses exact diagonalisation techniques through the use of transfer functions. It is conceptually…
Most stars in the Galaxy are found in multiple systems of two or more stars orbiting together. Two stars orbiting around their centre of mass are called binary stars. In close binary stars, the evolution of one star affects its companion and evolutionary expansion of one star al…
Modern nuclear physics makes extensive use of exotic particle beams created using accelerators, such as unstable ion isotopes and antiprotons. These give access to a wide range of fundamental studies that are at the cutting edge of science. The commissioning and operation of the…
Accelerators play a key role in the delivery of radiotherapy for treatment of cancer and other medical conditions. Proton therapy has the benefit of more localised delivery of dose to deep seated tumour volumes in comparison to treatment using x-rays or electrons. The accelerato…
The deposition of tellurium onto the low index faces of copper single crystals induces a range of structures such as the (2√3×2√3)R30° surface substitutional alloy on the Cu(111) surface. These structures have been studied using a combination of scanning tunnelling microscopy (S…
The need of radiation detectors capable of efficiently measuring in pulsed neutron fields is attracting widespread interest since the 60s. The efforts of the scientific community substantially increased in the last decade due to the increasing number of applications in which thi…
Bis(thiosemicarbazone) ligand derivatives and their metal complexes have long been of interest as they have applications as anticonvulsants, super-oxide dismutase-like radical scavengers, in the investigation of Alzheimer’s disease and diagnostic imaging. Copper (II) bis(thiosem…
Diamagnetism is the magnetism exhibited by all materials, even those not normally considered magnetic, in the presence of an applied magnetic field. On a microscopic level, it is associated with the angular momentum acquired by individual electrons in the magnetic field. Recentl…
Polyimides are ubiquitous in the electronics, space science, and research industries due to their thermal stability, ease of use, lifetime, and high dielectric strength. These properties, along with the propensity of polyimides to absorb water vapour, has led to both their use a…
The spatial character of the noise on a light field affects its usefulness for imaging. Multi-spatial-mode (MSM) squeezed light has noise below the quantum noise limit in multiple spatial modes, and can be used for super resolution imaging. The generation of such light has long …