Electron Spin Effects in Semiconductor Nanostructures

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Non-TechnicalThere is currently an intense worldwide movement in contemporary electronics to explore the role of electron spin - in addition to its charge - with an eye on increasing the functionality of electronic microchip devices, particularly in the realm of computation. The present proposal addresses this issue by employing state-of-the-art techniques to fabricate and characterize a series of novel semiconductor nano-scale structures in which the role of electron spin is magnified by the incorporation of magnetic ions. By training graduate and undergraduate students in cutting-edge semiconductor fabrication techniques as well as in designing multi-functional materials, the proposed program is expected to have broad impact far beyond its immediate goals, since skills in these areas of materials science are in broad demand in U.S. Industry, National Laboratories, and Academia. Additionally, the Notre Dame team already has an exceptional track record of collaborations (currently with more than forty other institutions) either by providing research samples or by carrying out joint experiments. This activity of dissemination and sharing of results is expected to further intensify as the demand for spin-based electronic materials continues to grow.TechnicalThe proposal focuses on three distinct but complementary areas involving molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and physical studies of low-dimensional magnetic semiconductor systems: (a) investigation of basic processes in (III,Mn)V ferromagnetic semiconductor (FMS) alloys; (b) investigation of properties of FMS structures patterned on the nanoscale; and (c) exploratory growth studies of new FMS systems. The proposed program is expected to have intellectual merit and broad impact far beyond its specific scientific goals by contributing to the arsenal of spin-electronics materials generally; and by training graduate and undergraduate students in cutting-edge semiconductor fabrication techniques and in designing multi-functional materials, thus contributing to U.S. manpower skills in areas which are in wide demand in U.S. Industry, National Laboratories, and Academia. Additionally, the Notre Dame team already has an exceptional track record of collaborations (currently with more than forty other institutions) either by providing research samples or by carrying out joint experiments. This activity of dissemination and sharing of results is expected to further intensify as the demand for spin-electronic materials continues to grow.