Another cool template from 11Mystics.com
Welcome
This page provides a convenient starting point to learn about my teaching and research activities at Arizona State University. If you are looking for the latest news, check my blog!
If you are interested in Semiconductor Physics Research, there is hardly a better choice than the Department of Physics at Arizona State University (ASU). As the only major research university in one of the largest US metropolitan areas, we benefit from fruitful partnerships with many high-tech companies in the Valley of the Sun. ASU has been classified as a "Research I" University by the Carnegie Foundation, joining a select group which includes the most prestigious universities in the US. Read more
Arizona State University is the cradle of many research innovations in physics education. The work of Prof. David Hestenes has had a profound impact on the physics community, stimulating a multitude of efforts to develop a scientific approach to physics teaching. I have incorporated many of these techniques to my classes, and the results are quite remarkable.
The graph shows the scores achieved by my PHY 111 class (algebra-based physics for non-engineers) in a diagnostic test developed by Prof. Hestenes and collaborators. The improvement over time follows the successive introduction of teaching innovations that depart from the traditional lecture approach. As of 2004, my students were approaching scores comparable to results from Harvard engineering classes.
My PHY 111 class is currently using a commercial textbook that I adapted for my students. I have also written an entire textbook on waves for more advanced students, that you can download here.
Our current areas of research focus on novel semiconductor materials and nanostructures, including carbon nanotubes. We use a variety of experimental techniques such as Raman spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry, and we maintain a close collaboration with theorists in house and around the world.
The figure shows the possibility of inducing a direct gap in germanium (an indirect gap material that therefore is a poor light emitter) by growing this material under tensile strain on a relaxed ternary SiGeSn alloy recently developed at ASU. Read more.
The left figure is the dielectric function of n-type Ge measured with infrared ellipsometry. It shows the typical metallic Drude-type behavior. By fitting the ellipsometric data with Drude's expression, we obtain the resistivity and (using the known carrier effective mass) the carrier concentration. The ellipsometric data (red dots on the right figure) are in excellent agreement with data from conventional electric measurements (solid line).
