Design, synthesis and advanced characterization of functional materials and devices

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Our research program seeks to advance knowledge on a variety of functional semiconductor- based materials and heterostructures for applications such as (i) piezoelectric transducers and energy harvesting devices, (ii) thermoelectric generator modules for waste heat recovery and (iii) heterogeneous films for magneto optic integrated Faraday isolators. Using experimental, numerical and analytical approaches, the research program we pursue has provided basic understanding of how atomistic, nanoscale and interfacial processes during crystal growth ultimately define large scale functional properties of advancedt materials. Our studies usually lead to new, nanoengineered thin films or nanostructured bulk materials that fundamentally alter phenomena pertinent to industrial applications. MEMS related industries are in need of Pb-free alternatives to replace current piezoelectric ceramics, and so we propose to design and grow novel alloys based on piezoelectric compounds such as ZnO, and/or III-Nitrides. Emitters for telecommunications would profit from integrated Faraday isolators, for which we propose to explore the enhanced magneto optic properties of epilayers containing magnetic nanoclusters. Waste heat recovery will benefit from low-weight thermoelectric alloys made from earth abundant elements, such as Mg2Si, which we are already pursuing in our laboratories and for which a substantial increase in the power factor is necessary.****The objective of our program is to establish a fundamental understanding of structure-function relationships that govern the properties of these functional materials, in particular for magneto optic and piezoelectric phenomena, and thermal to electrical energy conversion applications. Second, by extending this fundamental knowledge into proof of concept devices, such as thermoelectric generators or Faraday isolators, we provide tests for the developed materials where they matter. Finally, we have been granted access to Compute Canada resources for numerical calculations, based on density functional theory, to design novel materials with enhanced piezoelectric and thermoelectric properties. In our proposed research we will profit from this powerful approach to design novel alloys and compounds, which will then be deposited as thin films and fully characterized. The influence of hierarchical structures in the introduction of heterogeneities has not yet been explored in a systematic way, except perhaps in relation to mechanical properties of materials. Part of our program will include this novel perspective, for example in the development of ZnO based alloys. Our program includes as an important component the training of highly qualified personnel from undergraduates to postdoctoral fellows. The training provided frequently*involves multi-disciplinary research under international and local collaborations, and with industry.*****