Research Overview

General

Our group works in the general area of experimental condensed matter physics of thin films and very small systems. Presently, the group is working on the nanoelectromechanical behavior of nanowires and fabricated electromechanical structures and surface/bulk molecular dipole systems. Nanoscale objects are made with a combination of photolithography, electron-beam lithography, epitaxial thin-film growth. GaN nanowires are studied in collaboration with researchers Kris Bertness and Norman Sanford at NIST. Molecular rotor systems are studied in collaboration with the laboratory of Prof. Josef Michl in Boulder and Prague. CLICK HERE FOR RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Recent and ongoing work has been in:

  • rf measurements of the mechanical motion of small cantilevers and beams.
  • High resolution electron-beam lithography
  • Nonlinear optical studies of thin film metals and monolayer organic films.
  • Second harmonic magneto-optic Kerr effect in magnetic films
  • Electronic transport studies of single and few molecules.
  • Growth and dielectric properties of incipient ferroelectric films
  • Microwave losses in high temperature superconductor films
  • Electrical transport and low frequency noise in giant magnetoresistance systems
  • High speed magnetodynamics of magnetic films
  • Growth and properties of transition metal oxide battery materials
  • In situ ellipsometry for film growth monitoring

Our group is part of the Condensed Matter Laboratory in the Department of Physics at the University of Colorado.

Support

Work recently supported by:

  • NSF
  • DARPA
  • Center for Revolutionary Solar Photoconversion (CRSP)
  • National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory

We are also associated with: