Electron Spin Effects in Semiconductor Nanostructures

****非技术摘要****目前在当代电子学中有一个激烈的全球运动，探索电子自旋的作用，电子的量子力学磁性，-除了电子的电荷-着眼于增加电子微芯片设备的功能，特别是在计算领域。该奖项支持一个项目，通过采用最先进的技术来制造和表征一系列新型半导体纳米级结构，其中电子自旋的作用通过结合磁性离子而被放大。通过在尖端半导体制造技术和设计多功能材料方面培养研究生和本科生，该项目预计将产生远远超出其直接目标的广泛影响。美国工业、国家实验室和学术界对这些材料科学领域的技能有着广泛的需求。此外，圣母大学的研究小组与许多科学家合作（目前与超过35个其他机构合作），要么提供研究样本，要么进行联合实验。随着在调查过程中开发出新的基于自旋的电子材料，这种传播和分享结果的活动（使学生接触到机构间和跨学科合作的额外好处）预计将进一步扩大。****技术摘要****这项资助支持一个项目，该项目关注两个新的互补领域，涉及低维磁性半导体系统中的自旋现象。首先，利用分子束外延（MBE）技术制备磁性半导体枝晶纳米线，包括II-Mn-VI合金和III-Mn-V合金。第二个领域将涉及MBE的生长和GaMnAs/Ge系统的研究，这是一种晶格匹配的组合，其特点是特殊的带对准，有望在多层和纳米线几何结构中产生新的自旋效应和新的见解。预计该项目将产生广泛的影响，远远超出其明确的科学目标，为一般的自旋电子材料库作出贡献；培训研究生和本科生掌握尖端半导体制造技术和设计多功能材料，从而在美国工业、国家实验室和学术界广泛需求的领域为美国人力技能做出贡献。此外，圣母大学的研究小组已经通过提供研究样本或进行联合实验与许多科学家合作（目前与超过35个其他机构合作）。随着在调查期间开发出新的自旋电子材料，预计这种传播和分享结果的活动将进一步加强。

****NON-TECHNICAL ABSTRACT****There is currently an intense worldwide movement in contemporary electronics to explore the role of the electron spin, a quantum mechanical magnetic property of the electron, - in addition to the electron's charge - with an eye on increasing the functionality of electronic microchip devices, particularly in the realm of computation. This award supports a project to address the 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 the electron spin is magnified by incorporating magnetic ions. By training graduate and undergraduate students in cutting-edge semiconductor fabrication techniques as well as in designing multi-functional materials, the project is expected to have a broad impact far beyond its immediate goals. Skills in these areas of materials science are in broad demand in U.S. Industry, National Laboratories, and Academia. Additionally, the Notre Dame team collaborates with many scientists (currently with more than thirty-five other institutions) either by providing research samples or by carrying out joint experiments. This activity of dissemination and sharing of results (which has the added benefit of exposing students to inter-institutional and inter-disciplinary collaborations) is expected to further expand as new spin-based electronic materials are developed in the course of the investigation.**** TECHNICAL ABSTRACT****This grant supports a project that focuses on two new complementary areas involving spin phenomena in low dimensional magnetic semiconductor systems. First, by using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), dendritic nanowires based on magnetic semiconductors, including both II-Mn-VI and III-Mn-V alloys will be fabricated and studied. The second area will involve MBE growth and study of GaMnAs/Ge systems, a lattice-matched combination characterized by a special band alignment that is expected to lead to new spin effects and new insights both in multilayer and in nanowire geometries. The project is expected to have a broad impact far beyond its explicit 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 collaborates with many scientists (currently with more than thirty-five 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 new spin-electronic materials are developed during this investigation.