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Dr. Thomas C. McGill Professor of Applied Physics 266
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| Expertise Growth of structures with control at the atomic scale; In Situ and Ex Situ studies of the growth; Experments to measure the basic properies of heterojunctions and nanostructures; Fabrication of devices; Integration of the devices into simple systems; Simulation of the properties of nanostructures, their growth and the properties of devices made from them. Field of Study Recent developments in materials preparation techniques have made it possible to construct new materials at an atomic scale. This has made it possible to construct microstructures that have unique electron properties for various device applications. These microstructures are characterized by a new type of device physics where quantum mechanical phenomena play an essential role in their behavior. Application of these microstructures promises to be the major development in electronic and electro-optic device technologies over the next two decades. Our group's research is aimed at exploring the more basic and, we believe, exciting possibilities of this new field of research. Using facilities that include one of the most advanced fabrication facilities in the world, personal graphics supercomputers, and facilities for measuring the chemical, structural, optical, and electrical properties of small structures, we are exploring the possibilities of making new electronic devices, visible light emitters, and novel sensors. The effort is not only aimed at device physics but includes basic studies of the underlying heterojunction physics. It is widely held that the electronics revolution will hit a snag in the early part of the next decade when the current strategy of shrinking standard transistor devices to ever smaller dimensions will come up against fundamental limits. In an attempt to circumvent these limits, we are exploring the possibility of employing devices that are based on quantum mechanical tunneling. These tunnel devices show promise of allowing one to shrink electronic circuits by at least two orders of magnitude over that attainable by standard devices. Current results include: the highest frequency and power performance of any solid-state device, and the best current gain characteristics for three terminal tunnel devices. Research efforts are under way to explore the application of these tunnel devices in neural networks and cellular automata architectures for computing applications. High-density optical recording and solid-state displays await the development of light emitters emitting radiation in the green and blue. Research in our group focuses on microstructures involving wideband gap semiconductor compounds of elements from columns II and VI of the periodic table (ZnTe, ZnSe, ZnS, CdSe, CdS) and is yielding device structures that show promise of providing efficient light-emitting diodes and perhaps even lasers. Selected Publications D. Ting, E. Yu, D. Collins, D. Chow, and T. C. McGill, "Modeling of Novel Heterojunction Tunnel Structures," J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 8, 810 (1990) E. Yu, Y. Rajakarunanayake, M. C. Phillips, J. O. McCaldin, and T. C. McGill, "Heterojunction Approaches to Light Emitters: The Role of Band Offsets," Ext. Abs. 22nd Conf. Solid State Devices & Materials, Sendai, 601-604 (1990) R. H. Miles, D. H. Chow, J. N. Schulman, and T. C. McGill, "Infrared Optical Characterization of InAs/InxGa1-xSb Superlattices," Appl. Phys. Lett. 57, 801 (1990) E. T. Yu, E. T. Croke, D. H. Chow, D. A. Collins, M. C. Phillips, T. C. McGill, J. O. McCaldin, and R. H. Miles, "Measurement of the Valence Band Offset in Novel Heterojunction Systems: Si/Ge (100) and AlSb/ZnTe (100)," J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B8, 908 (1990) E. T. Yu, E. T. Croke, and T. C.McGill, "Measurement of the Valence Band Offset in StrainedSi/Ge (100) Heterojunctions by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy," Applied Physics Lett. 56, 569 (1989) |
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© 2007 California Institute of Technology. All Rights Reserved. last
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9 March, 2007
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