NER: Role of Elastic Anisotropy in Semiconductor Nanopatterning

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

This Nanoscale Exploratory Research (NER) proposal was submitted in response to the solicitation "Nanoscale Science and Engineering" (NSF 01-157). The project will explore the role of elastic anisotropy in the self-patterning of semiconductor nanostructures, possibly catalyzing a new class of high performance nanostructure devices. The project aims to venture into an emerging concept in nanoscale science and engineering using a fundamentally new and interdisciplinary approach, which combines the complementary expertise of the investigators. During the exploratory phase, the role of elastic anisotropy in three-dimensional semiconductor nanopatterning will be established. To this end, ternary alloy films with varying alloy composition, lattice misfit, and thickness will be grown by molecular beam epitaxy; their elastic anisotropies will be measured using Brillouin scattering and interpreted using atomic-scale simulations. Using these alloy films as the spacer material in quantum dot superlattices, the relationship between the elastic anisotropies and the long-range order of the resulting quantum dot arrays will then be established. The work accomplished in this NER project may lay the foundation for a larger effort to develop three-dimensional nanopatterning methods for use in a wide variety of innovative nanostructure devices. %%% The project addresses basic exploratory research issues in a topical area of materials science with high technological relevance. An important feature of the program is the integration of research and education through the training of students in a fundamentally and technologically significant area. Graduate, undergraduate, and high school students will participate in this project, and will be involved with growth and characterization of semiconductor nanostructures, elastic property measurements, and computer simulations. ***