Grants and Contributions:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year. (2017-2018 to 2022-2023)

My research advances the ability to make, manipulate, measure, and understand materials and structures with nanometre dimensions. Due to the influence of quantum mechanics, properties of materials change when we reduce their dimensions to the nanometre range, which provides us opportunities to create materials and devices that make use of quantum phenomena. A well-known example is the USB memory stick, which makes use of quantum tunneling to retain information in the form of stored electrons. Nanotechnology also brings new challenges for the instruments that can manipulate and measure materials with tiny dimensions. Nanomaterials science has seen rapid development in the past decade, and many new applications are emerging in diverse fields including communications, the environment, medicine, and wearable technologies.

My research involves the fabrication and characterization of silicon quantum dots (QDs) a few nanometres in diameter, with two goals: (i) to create practical silicon-based light emitting devices that are compatible with the processing techniques, materials, and environmental constraints of the semiconductor industry, and (ii) to advance our understanding of the physical processes of their growth and of how they emit light. Achieving these goals will provide Canadian industry with new opportunities in emerging areas of optical communications and computing.

Among the techniques used to solve critical materials problems limiting the commercial use of quantum technologies is positron annihilation, which uses positrons (the antiparticle of the electron) as a probe for tiny defects which can profoundly change the properties of materials. Construction is nearing completion for the CFI-funded McMaster Intense Positron Beam Facility, a nuclear reactor-based positron system. A state-of-the-art experimental chamber designed to make use of the new beam facility has been developed in my laboratory at The University of Western Ontario, which will provide new capabilities for measuring defects, and will assist the development of new materials and devices. Using the unique capabilities of this equipment, I propose to provide insight into the behaviour of defects which can be exploited in the next generation of electronic and optoelectronic devices. This research will have benefits for understanding the detrimental effects of defects on electronic device performance, and for developing techniques for nanoscale manipulation of materials.

This research program is designed to provide a number of original end-to-end research projects for students, both graduate and undergraduate. In the course of the research, the students will gain experience with a variety of the techniques used in high technology industry, and will be prepared for successful careers in industry or in universities.