LE3 .A278 2020

2020

Robertson, Michael

Acadia University

Bachelor of Science

Honours

Physics

Physics

Two experimental setups were designed and used to study a wide variety of materials. The first setup consisted of an automated excitation spectrometer to record emission and excitation spectra. The second setup was an automated two-dimensional scanner that used a fiber-optic cable along with a spectrometer to record a spectrum at every pixel across the surface of a sample. For each experiment, a specific set of LabVIEW programs were designed to acquire, characterize and analyze the data. Applications of the two experimental setups and LabVIEW programs included the investigation of the changes in the absorption spectra obtained from rat brain slices due to living vs. dead cells in the tissue, changes in the open-circuit potential produced at various locations on a solar cell, the transmittance of paint at different wavelengths and the luminescence of different coloured Crayons. The rat brain slices did not show any changes in the absorption spectra because of the life state of the cells, but only the magnitude of the average absorption changed when there were changes in the thickness of the rat brain slice. A two-dimensional map of solar cell open-circuit potential was measured, and it was observed to be less efficient at producing a potential at the grain boundaries where the magnitude of the potential dropped in agreement with values from simulations presented in the literature. The transmittance of paint increased as the wavelength increased at least up to 1700 nm for all eight colours of paint investigated, thereby allowing pencil lead beneath the paint to be observed. The scanning spectroscopy setup was able to successfully record the luminescence signal from Crayons, which was an achievement due to the weakness of the signal compared to reflection or transmission experiments. In addition, a function was added to the LabVIEW acquisition program so that a plot of theemission spectrum for any pixel in the two-dimensional image could be viewed by clicking on the pixel; a very useful utility when creating image subsets from specific ranges of wavelengths or ratios of ranges of wavelengths. In summary, the research conducted resulted in a set of great tools that will aid design and analysis of similar experiments in the future.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3373