Manganese-Doping During Germanium Quantum Dot Self-Assembly for Spintronics Applications

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Technical: This project, funded by the Electronic and Photonic Materials (EPM) Program in DMR and by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry (ASC) Program in CHE, investigates the fundamental mechanisms controlling metastable manganese incorporation during germanium quantum dot self-assembly via heteroepitaxy on silicon. The project includes a comprehensive study of the fundamental growth, incorporation, clustering, and reaction processes in the magnetic doping of Ge with substitutional Mn. Surface chemistry tools, including scanning tunneling microscopy and low energy electron microscopy, are used to gain an atomic scale and mesoscale understanding of the doping of Mn into Ge dots. Magnetic measurements are employed to investigate the correlation between Mn incorporation and magnetic properties of quantum dots. These studies are hierarchical, evaluating fundamental transport on relevant strained and unstrained surfaces, using that knowledge to guide optimized incorporation studies through careful control of kinetic parameters, and then feeding back with structural, chemical, and magnetic analysis. Non-technical: The project addresses basic research issues in a topical area of materials and chemical sciences with technological relevance. The success of this project is likely to have impacts on the advancement of the emerging area of spintronics and related fields such as quantum computing. Graduate and undergraduate students are trained in an interdisciplinary environment that includes materials science and chemistry. In addition, the PI and co-PI organize a NanoDays event, which is open to the public with multiple interactions including demonstrations both onsite and in local elementary schools, lab tours, and multimedia presentations.