Center for Semiconductor Physics in Nanostructures
 

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Research

Overview | IRG1 | IRG2 | Nuggets | Publications

Overview

Richard Feynman, in a 1959 talk entitled "There's Room at the Bottom," challenged physicists to explore the field we now call nanotechnology. His vision was the control of materials on the atomic scale, a key technology for future electronic, optoelectronic and electromechanical devices. Since then we have learned how to pattern devices on the sub-micron scale, devices which form the basis of all modern electronics that in turn makes possible much of our information economy. Now we are starting to realize Feynman's original goal of truly working on the nanometer scale. This reduction in the size of semiconductor devices will lead to faster, smaller computers, denser information storage, and perhaps new technologies not yet imagined. Moreover we recognize nanotechnology as not just an intriguing possibility, but rather as a necessity for our economic competitiveness.


In spite of this tremendous potential, our fundamental understanding of material science on this scale is still in its infancy. Our vision for the Center for Semiconductor Physics in Nanostructures is to design and control the growth and behavior of these new systems by bringing together our individual research efforts into a collaborative whole.


Our research is split into two Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs):

IRG 1: Growing layers of semiconductor that are smooth on the atomic scale is a tall order. Here is a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) image of an island of As a single atom high, on a GaAs surface.


- IRG1 focuses on the creation of nanoscale structures, such as dots and wires, by many different approaches.


- IRG2 researches how to make extremely smooth interfaces, allowing for smaller quantum well heterostructures.

IRG2: There are many ways to make small structures. One intriguing possibility is to create them chemically in a colloidal suspension. Pictured here are CdSe dots that have been precipitated into a periodic structure.