On compactness of admissible parameter sets: Convergence and stability in inverse problems for distributed parameter systems

A series of numerical examples is reported and several algorithms compared for estimation of coefficients in differential equation models. Unconstrained, constrained and Tikhonov regularization methods are tested for their behavior with regard to both convergence (of approximation methods for the states and parameters) and stability (continuity of the estimates with respect to perturbations in the data or observed states)

Development of low cost contacts to silicon solar cells

A copper based contact system using plated Pd-Cr-Cu was developed. Good cells were made but cells degraded under low temperature (300 C) heat treatments. The degradation was identified as copper migration into the cells junction region. A paper study was conducted to find a proper barrier to the copper migration problem. Nickel was identified as the best candidate barrier and this was verified in a heat treatment study using evaporated metal layers. An electroless nickel solution was substituted for the electroless chromium solution in the original process

Silicon solar cell process development, fabrication and analysis

For UCP Si, randomly selected wafers and wafers cut from two specific ingots were studied. For the randomly selected wafers, a moderate gettering diffusion had little effect. Moreover, an efficiency up to 14% AMI was achieved with advanced processes. For the two specific UCP ingots, ingot #5848-13C displayed severe impurity effects as shown by lower 3sc in the middle of the ingot and low CFF in the top of the ingot. Also the middle portions of this ingot responded to a series of progressively more severe gettering diffusion. Unexplained was the fact that severely gettered samples of this ingot displayed a negative light biased effect on the minority carrier diffusion length while the nongettered or moderately gettered ones had the more conventional positive light biased effect on diffusion length. On the other hand, ingot C-4-21A did not have the problem of ingot 5848-13C and behaved like to the randomly selected wafers. The top half of the ingot was shown to be slightly superior to the bottom half, but moderate gettering helped to narrow the gap

The role of glycosylation in regulating glycoprotein hormone free alpha subunit and free beta subunit combination in the extra-embryonic coelomic fluid of early pregnancy

The extraembryonic coelomic fluid (EECF) represents a major compartment in the fetal-placental unit during the first trimester of pregnancy. The compartment is composed of the fluid contained between the chorionic and amniotic membranes. The levels of glycoprotein hormone free alpha-subunit and free beta-subunit in the EECF far exceed those in the amniotic fluid or maternal serum. Furthermore, the level of free alpha in this compartment is twice that of intact hCG. We purified the glycoprotein hormone free alpha-subunit from a pool of EECF. This free alpha-subunit was found to be larger in size than the alpha-subunit of intact hCG. The size difference was observed by sodium dodecyl sulfate- polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under reduced and denatured conditions. The carbohydrate composition of the EECF free alpha-subunit indicated a higher degree of oligosaccharide branching, as evidenced by larger amounts of fucose, sialic acid, galactose, and N- acetylglucosamine than were present on combined hCG alpha. These differences in size and carbohydrate composition argue strongly against the concept that free alpha-subunits might originate from dissociation of intact hCG or "nicked" hCG. The free subunits of the EECF were evaluated for their ability to combine with the corresponding subunit obtained by dissociation of intact hCG. EECF free beta was able to combine with hCG alpha to form intact hCG. In contrast, EECF free alpha was unable to combine with hCG beta to form intact hCG. However, after removal of the asparagine-linked glycans by treatment with N-glycanase, most of the previously uncombinable free alpha-subunits were able to combine with hCG beta. These data demonstrate that the N-linked oligosaccharide(s) of EECF free alpha function to prevent the molecule from combining with the available and combinable free beta-sub-units that coexist in the same physiological compartment during early pregnancy. In view of the large amount of free alpha that is present in the EECF and the observation that, in vitro, free alpha can stimulate uterine decidual cell PRL secretion, together with the close apposition of free alpha-producing cells to decidual cells, it is likely that EECF free alpha has a function in early pregnancy. Carbohydrate modifications generated during the biosynthesis of EECF free alpha- subunit ensure that a population of free alpha molecules can exist in the presence of substantial quantities of free beta-subunits, and correspondingly, these same carbohydrate modifications function to permit the existence of free beta-subunits in the same gestational compartment with free alpha molecules

Microcrystalline silicon growth for heterojunction solar cells

Microcrystalline Si (m-Si) films with a 1.7eV energy bandgap and crystal size of several hundred A were e-beam evaporated on single crystalline Si (c-Si) to form a heterojunction with the substrate, or a window layer to a single crystalline p-n junction (heteroface structure). The goal was to enhance Voc by such uses of the larger bandgap m-Si, with the intriguing prospect of forming heterostructures with exact lattice match on each layer. The heterojunction structure was affected by interface and shunting problems and the best Voc achieved was only 482mV, well below that of single crystal Si homojunctions. The heteroface structure showed promise for some of the samples with p m-Si/p-n structure (the complementary structure did not show any improvement). Although several runs with different deposition conditions were run, the results were inconsistent. Any Voc enhancement obtained was too small to compensate for the current loss due to the extra absorption and poor carrier transport properties of the m-Si film

Silicon solar cell process development, fabrication and analysis

Solar cells were fabricated from EFG ribbons dendritic webs, cast ingots by heat exchanger method, and cast ingots by ubiquitous crystallization process. Baseline and other process variations were applied to fabricate solar cells. EFG ribbons grown in a carbon-containing gas atmosphere showed significant improvement in silicon quality. Baseline solar cells from dendritic webs of various runs indicated that the quality of the webs under investigation was not as good as the conventional CZ silicon, showing an average minority carrier diffusion length of about 60 um versus 120 um of CZ wafers. Detail evaluation of large cast ingots by HEM showed ingot reproducibility problems from run to run and uniformity problems of sheet quality within an ingot. Initial evaluation of the wafers prepared from the cast polycrystalline ingots by UCP suggested that the quality of the wafers from this process is considerably lower than the conventional CZ wafers. Overall performance was relatively uniform, except for a few cells which showed shunting problems caused by inclusions

Silicon Solar Cell Process Development, Fabrication and Analysis, Phase 1

Solar cells from RTR ribbons, EFG (RF and RH) ribbons, dendritic webs, Silso wafers, cast silicon by HEM, silicon on ceramic, and continuous Czochralski ingots were fabricated using a standard process typical of those used currently in the silicon solar cell industry. Back surface field (BSF) processing and other process modifications were included to give preliminary indications of possible improved performance. The parameters measured included open circuit voltage, short circuit current, curve fill factor, and conversion efficiency (all taken under AM0 illumination). Also measured for typical cells were spectral response, dark I-V characteristics, minority carrier diffusion length, and photoresponse by fine light spot scanning. the results were compared to the properties of cells made from conventional single crystalline Czochralski silicon with an emphasis on statistical evaluation. Limited efforts were made to identify growth defects which will influence solar cell performance

Silicon solar cell process development, fabrication, and analysis

Two large cast ingots were evaluated. Solar cell performance versus substrate position within the ingots was obtained and the results are presented. Dendritic web samples were analyzed in terms of structural defects, and efforts were made to correlate the data with the performance of solar cells made from the webs

The effects of beta-human chorionic gonadotrophin on the in vitro growth of bladder cancer cell lines

The effects of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) and its subunits on in vitro bladder cancer cell growth have been assessed using the a tetrazolium salt reduction assay (MTT). Intact hCG, alpha-hCG and beta-core hCG all had no effect on cell growth, while beta-hCG increased MTT reduction in all four bladder cancer lines tested. The magnitude of beta-hCG stimulation was maximal in the T24 line, which does not itself produce beta-hCG and appeared to be correspondingly lower in beta-hCG-secreting lines. The addition of antibodies to beta-hCG inhibited MTT reduction among high secretors but failed to inhibit MTT reduction in non-beta-hCG producers. These results are consistent with the poor prognosis associated with beta-hCG expression by bladder tumours in vivo and suggest an autocrine/paracrine stimulation of tumour growth by endogenously produced beta-hCG

The Front Yard Economy

I decided to write a longform, magazine style article about yard sale culture in America, especially as affected by the Great Recession. I wanted to humanize the devastation wrought by the economic downturn through my in-depth examination of the emotion and meaning involved in—and inherently a part of—yard sales. My story explores an important social issue through the personal lens of the (sometimes agonizing) choices we make as we decide what to keep and what to let go when a life transition spurs us to host a yard sale. It also reflects on the catharsis that can come from seeing a fragment of one’s life become part of someone else’s and demonstrates how yard sales connect people in various ways. Along with researching, reporting, and writing this story, I also created a designed spread of what the piece would look like if it were actually published in a magazine. Finally, I created a web component for the project that utilizes a trendy web design technique called parallax scrolling. My spread can be viewed in printed PDF form and my website can be viewed at www.jillianiles.com/finalcapstone.html. I found that the Great Recession affected yard sale culture in several ways. It increased the number of sales, bred more professional resellers, and brought an extra poignancy to the process of letting go