First of all I would like to thank Dr. Douglas Gransberg for his guidance and support throughout this research. I thank him for his time, advice and constant encouragement and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity of working with him. Secondly, I would like to thank Catalina Miller for being a mentor and guide through this research. Thirdly, I would like to thank the members of my thesis committee thank Dr. David Jeong and Dr. Jing Dong for their time and support. Last, but not the least, I would like to thank my family and friends for their support and encouragement.