Plasmas for Growth and Processing of Advanced Materials

我经营着一个多元化的等离子体研究小组，专注于开发用于制造和处理广泛先进应用的材料的等离子体技术。等离子体是一种电离气体，除了在物理学上具有基本意义外，还具有许多重要的技术应用。利用射频和微波技术产生的低温等离子体被广泛用于微米和纳米制造；事实上，现代计算机和移动设备芯片在制造过程中经历了多个等离子体处理步骤。等离子体技术还被广泛用于制造重要的光电子和光子器件，如太阳能电池和半导体激光器。因此，等离子体处理技术将在制造用于新型高科技器件的先进材料方面发挥重要作用。这些新材料将反过来成为新的信息和通信技术(ICT)设备的基础，用于地面和空间应用，以及新型高精度传感器。我们的等离子体技术做出贡献的先进高科技材料的例子包括用于量子传感器应用的N掺杂金刚石薄膜，用于器件应用的掺杂石墨烯，以及应用于硅光子器件的硅纳米晶体中的量子限制能级。我的研究组进一步开发新的等离子体处理技术，有可能导致光子学的新发展，例如改进的蓝色和绿色氮化镓(GaN)垂直腔面发射激光器(VCSEL)，以及更好地了解声光调制器材料中的辐射损伤，这些材料在许多ICT应用中都很重要。等离子体材料生长技术的另一个非常令人兴奋的新应用是生长用于量子信息和传感应用的N掺杂金刚石薄膜，包括高灵敏度的钻石NV中心磁强计。这可以为加强地球物理矿物勘探以及测量加拿大北极的磁场提供新的传感技术，在加强对北方环境的监测方面对加拿大有重大好处。另一个重要的应用是研究等离子体离子轰击对核聚变反应堆中高科技应用金属的影响。这项由探索基金资助的研究将为我的研究生提供一个高级培训机会，他们将学习与高科技行业相关的广泛技术技能。我的学生在高科技领域的一系列公司找到了工作，也在学术界找到了工作。这一研究计划将使我的不同学生团队来自不同背景的学生在他们的职业生涯中茁壮成长，并成为加拿大高科技经济新的和不断增长的行业的主要贡献者。

I run a diversified plasma research group focused on developing plasma techniques for fabricating and processing materials for a wide range of advanced applications. Plasmas are ionized gases, which in addition to being of fundamental interest in physics, have many important technological applications. Low-temperature plasmas generated using radiofrequency and microwave techniques are widely used for micro- and nano-fabrication; indeed modern computer and mobile device chips undergo multiple plasma processing steps during their fabrication. Plasma technologies are also extensively used in the fabrication of important optoelectronic and photonic devices such as solar cells and semiconductor lasers. Plasma processing technologies will therefore have a major role to play in the fabrication of advanced materials for new high-tech device applications. These new materials will in turn be the basis for new Information and Communications Technology (ICT) devices, for both terrestrial and space-borne applications, as well as new types of high-precision sensors.   Examples of advanced high-tech materials where our plasma techniques have contributed include N-doped diamond films for quantum sensor applications, doped graphene for device applications, and quantum-confined energy levels in silicon nanocrystals with application to silicon photonic devices. Further development of new plasma processing techniques in my research group has the potential to lead to new developments in photonics, such as improved blue and green gallium nitride (GaN) Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) and a better understanding of radiation damage in acousto-optic modulator materials, which are important in many ICT applications. Another very exciting new application of plasma materials growth techniques is growth of N-doped diamond films for quantum information and sensing applications, including highly sensitive diamond NV-centre magnetometers. This could provide new sensing technologies for enhanced geophysical mineral prospecting, as well as measuring magnetic fields in Canada's Arctic, with significant benefits to Canada in terms of enhanced monitoring of the Northern environment. Another important application is the study of the effect of plasma ion bombardment on metals for high-tech applications in nuclear fusion reactors.   This Discovery Grant funded research will provide an advanced training opportunity for my graduate students, who will learn a wide range of technical skills relevant for high-tech industries. My students have found employment across a range of companies in the high-tech sector, as well as in academia. This research program will enable my diverse team of students from a wide range of backgrounds to thrive in their careers and be major contributors in new and growing sectors of the Canadian high-tech economy.