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Research Overview
The group is concerned with the study of the optical, electronic and vibrational properties of a wide range of bulk and low dimensional semiconductor structures and devices.The focus over the last five years is concerned with the understanding and control of quantum properties in nanoscale systems. These are studied both for their fundamental interest and for their application in light emitting applications.
Details of the activities of the research sections may be found on the subpages provided for this overview. In the following text we provide an overview of the experimental techniques we employ and of the equipment available.
Experimental methods include photoluminescence (PL), electroluminescence (EL), photoluminescence excitation (PLE), photocurrent, (PC) and ultrafast spectroscopy, together with reflection, Raman scattering, magneto-optical and transport studies. In many cases these techniques are now applied to the study of nanoscale systems using highly stable low temperature setups, based around piezo-electrically controlled stages with nanometre scale precision.
The group is very well equipped to carry out a wide range of experimental studies, using continuous wave gas and solid state lasers, both cw and pulsed tunable lasers, and high stability ring and semiconductor single mode lasers. Spectroscopy is carried out using high resolution single and double monochromators, Fourier transform spectrometers, tunable lasers and high precision wavelength meters, with detection by a wide variety of charge coupled device detectors and avalanche photodiodes. Structure and device studies are carried out over a wide temperature range from 1.5K to above room temperature, using custom designed cryostat systems.
Most of our research is carried out in close collaboration with the National Centre for III-V Semiconductors at Sheffield where the majority of our structures and devices are grown and fabricated. This facility contains two MBE reactors for the growth of GaAs and InP based materials and three MOVPE reactors for the growth of similar materials. The presence of this high technology facility in Sheffield is highly advantageous for our research, and also provides the capability for high level training of PhD students in device fabrication, as well as in advanced physics.
Our group has many active collaborations with other research groups, both in universities and industry, in this country and abroad. Present contacts include: University of Nottingham, Cambridge University, Oxford University, University of Southampton, University of St Andrews, University of Bristol, University of Cardiff, Paul Drude Institute Berlin, University of North Carolina, ENS Paris, LPN France, EPFL Switzerland, University of Dortmund, Institute for Solid State Physics Chernogolovka and Toshiba Research Laboratories Cambridge.
