Semiconductor Materials and Devices

The Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) facility within the Department of Electronic Engineering is the only III-V (Gallium Arsenide related) MBE compound semiconductor growth system in an Australian University. It therefore not only performs its own research but also collaborates closely with all other Australian Universities with interests in this class of advanced semiconductor materials, as well as several internationally.

In house techniques which are also a part of the facility include high resolution x-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, Raman spectroscopy, Hall effect, Scanning Electron Microscopy with energy and wavelength dispersive spectroscopies and Transmission Electron Microscopy.

 

Research

Research in the areas of growth processes, interface formation, structural, optical and electrical characterisation and device structure development, includes studies of compliant substrate formation, the effects of hydrogen irradiation on low temperature lattice mismatched growth and high precision measurements of the elastic constants of a range of compound semiconductors of technological interest. The research feeds into device programs interested in optoelectronic and photonic device design, fabrication and testing, for example for high speed long wavelength photodetectors and modulators, waveguide phase shifters and resonant tunnelling diodes.

Visit the Molecular Beam Epitaxy Research Group webpage for more up to date information on their research. The staff members whose research interests lie in this area are;

A/Prof Brian Usher, Associate Professor
BSc(Hons), DipEd, PhD UWA , MAIP.

Molecular Beam Epitaxial growth of semiconductor materials. Studies of growth processes and interface formation. Characterisation of single and multilayer structures by high precision X-ray diffraction and topography. Strained layer structures and the role of dislocation dynamics in the relaxation of strain.

Dr Tad Warminski, Honorary Senior Research Fellow
MSc Warsaw , PhD DSc Polish Academy of Sciences.

Characterisation of semiconductor materials by different electron microscopic and X-ray spectroscopic techniques (including synchrotron radiation). Studies of microscopic correlations between structural and chemical features of strained layer structures.

 

Scholarships may be available to well-qualified applicants. For more information on scholarships available at La Trobe University click here . For further information on research degrees at La Trobe University click here .

Detailed information on undergraduate and postgraduate courses is available from the La Trobe University handbook. Further information regarding the Department of Electronic Engineering may be obtained by writing to: