Condensed Matter, Solid State, and Materials Research

Research topics in this diverse area range from innovative studies of the basic properties of condensed-matter systems to the nanofabrication and study of advanced electronic, optoelectronic, spintronic, and quantum-superconductor devices.  Modern materials (especially those involving thin films) are increasingly produced in configurations in which the functionality and limitations of systems are determined by their surface or interfacial properties and by the structure and nature of atomic defects at these surfaces and interfaces. In applied physics, investigations directed at the physics of surfaces and interfaces include the study of catalysis and surface reactions, atomic resolution of the interface and grain-boundary structure of electronic materials, and determination of the effect of a single atomic defect on electronic transport across an interface.

Materials systems that are currently the focus of substantial research efforts by applied physics research groups include: silicon and related materials for semiconductor materials physics and nanoelectronics research; thin films of complex oxides for colossal magnetoresistance materials, high K dielectrics, and fundamental studies of thin-film growth; heterostructures of III-V compounds and alloys, including gallium arsenide and various phosphides and nitrides, for experiments that use or elucidate effects of quantum confinement and seek to optimize carrier transport and optical properties for use in millimeter-wave transistors and ultra-high-speed optoelectronic devices; and low-temperature and high-temperature superconductor thin-film materials for research activities that seek both to clarify basic questions regarding superconductivity and to advance the prospects for significant applications of superconducting films and devices. 

Research groups in the field of applied physics employ a wide range of experimental approaches in the study of condensed matter physics and materials science. These include x-ray and electron diffraction, photoluminescence and Raman scattering, x-ray and optical spectroscopy, electron microscopy (particularly ultra-high-resolution electron microscopy and analytical electron microscopy), Rutherford ion-backscattering spectroscopy, tunneling spectroscopy, scanning probe microscopy, nanostructure transport studies, molecular-beam epitaxy with atomic-layer control, organometallic vapor-phase epitaxy, laser ablation, ultra-high-vacuum processing, electron-beam lithography, ion-beam lithography, and ion-beam processing. Field members continue to lead in the development of many of these experimental approaches.