GOALI: Low-Dimensional Plasmonic Semiconductor Materials

Drexel University, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

Technical: In this Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) project, the growth and collective electronic excitation properties of quasi-one-dimensional semiconductor materials are investigated. The vapor-phase growth of multi-component, uniform- and tapered-diameter nanowires of group III-V semiconducting materials uses the technique of metallorganic chemical vapor disposition. The structural, electronic, and optical properties of the nanowires are investigated using high-resolution electron microscopy, optical excitation spectroscopies, resonant Raman scattering, and proximal characterization methods. These studies are to elucidate how topological driven strain, surface and interface structure, and band structure, and band bending influence the presence and properties of collective electronic excitation within semiconductor heterostructure materials systems. The research projects are carried out collaboratively among students and faculty at Drexel University and industrial scientists at Structured Materials Industries, Inc. (SMI). The research goal of this project is to understand how multi-component group III-V based semiconductor nanowire materials can be grown and processed in a manner that they enable confinement and control of charge-density waves for the purpose of tunable, resonant terahertz detection and emission. Non-technical: The project addresses basic research issues in a topical area of materials science with high technological relevance. The fabrication of semiconductor nanowires and study of their collective electronic excitations and their response to electromagnetic waves would lead to applications in advancing the state-of-the-art in the fast and sensitive detection of terahertz and charged-particle radiation. This GOALI project provides opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to receive training and accrue experience over extended stays in an industrial setting in areas highly relevant to their research and career interests. The project will also include international collaboration with scientists in Italy.