MRI: Acquisition of a Spectroscopic Ellipsometer for Surface and Materials Analysis at Lehigh University

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With this award from the Major Research and Instrumentation (MRI) program, Professor Gregory S. Ferguson and Dimitri Vezenov of the Department of Chemistry at Lehigh University will acquire a spectroscopic ellipsometer. It will be used in a variety of research projects including studies of: 1) the electrochemically directed self-assembly of monolayer films, 2) development of biosensors based on single molecule arrays, 3) photoinduced changes in the optical properties of chalcogenide glass bulk and thin films, 3) high indium-content InGaN and AlInGaN semiconductors for energy applications, 4) determination of the thickness of sol-gel coatings, 5) molecularly designed surfaces, 6) the development of nanoporous inorganic, polymeric and polymer-biomolecule composite membranes, 7) glued Langmuir-Blodgett bilayers, 8) glass science, processing and optical properties of tellurite fibers, and 9) hydrogen in semiconductors.Ellipsometry is an exceptionally simple technique for surface characterization in terms of the quantitative measurement that it can provide - in the simplest case, it is the thickness of a film or interface. It is frequently a technique of first choice for routine characterization of thin films, soft or biological interfaces and materials. The acquisition will contribute significantly to state-of-the-art training of graduate and undergraduate researchers, as well as postdoctoral fellows, in interdisciplinary studies. It will provide a robust resource for incorporation into the undergraduate curricula.