Properties of Semiconductor and Magnetic Nanostructures

在几乎所有的高科技行业中，都在不断地推动半导体、光电子和磁电子组件和设备朝着更小、更高性能和更高效率的方向发展。实现这些收益的关键是能够以越来越小的长度制造结构，目前已接近十亿分之一米宽。如此小的结构通常会加上“纳米”这个词的前缀，意思是“十亿分之一”。这项研究计划的目的是为理解半导体和磁性纳米结构以及原子水平的变化如何影响完整设备的性能所需的科学框架做出贡献。为了研究结构，这种微小的、高度聚焦的电子探测器被扫描穿过样品的表面，并测量产生的电流、产生的光以及从样品中散射出来的电子和穿过样品的电子。通过研究这些电子如何与独特的原子排列相互作用，可以对纳米设备的工作原理获得有价值的见解。这项研究的主要成果将是加深对半导体和磁性设备在纳米级的操作的了解，这将导致设备功能的改善。此外，预计为确定和改进这些系统而开发的方法将在生物、化学和环境科学中得到交叉应用。加拿大将通过培训高技能研究人员从这项工作中受益，这些研究人员有助于提高加拿大高科技产业的竞争力。

There is a continual drive in nearly all high-technology industries towards smaller, higher performance and higher efficiency semiconductor, opto-electronic and magneto-electronic components and devices. Key to achieving these gains is the ability to manufacture structures at progressively smaller length scales, now approaching a billionth of a metre across. Structures this small are often prefixed by the term "nano" which implies "one billionth". It is the purpose of this research program to contribute towards the scientific framework necessary for understanding semiconductor and magnetic nano-structures and how changes at the atomic level can impact the performance of a complete device. In order to investigate structures this tiny, highly focused probes of electrons are scanned across the surface of a sample and the electrical currents generated, light produced, and the electrons scattered off of and through the sample are measured. By studying how these electrons interact with a unique arrangement of atoms, valuable insights can be gained into how nano-sized devices work. The main outcome of this research will be an increased understanding of the operation of semiconductor and magnetic devices at the nano-scale that will lead to improved device functionality. In addition, it is expected that the methodologies developed for characterizing and improving these systems will find cross applications in the biological, chemical and environmental sciences. Canada will benefit from this work through the training of highly skilled researchers that can contribute to the competitiveness of Canada's high-technology industries.