Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Much like people, solid materials are never perfect. Also like people, the imperfections in a solid often define their character and make them unique. In fact, there are materials whose current scientific and technological appeal is intimately related to the types of defects and impurities that they can accommodate. For example, zinc oxide is a leading candidate for use in the transparent transistors that could enable brighter, more energy-efficient laptop computer displays. However, optimizing the performance of zinc oxide has challenged scientists because of the kinds of imperfections that occur naturally within this material. The defect-sensitive properties of materials like zinc oxide present an urgent need - as well as a golden opportunity - for strategies to control and tailor the creation of technological materials. Addressing this need, my research program explores the role that defects play in tailoring the growth and performance of zinc oxide and other materials of technological interest. My experiments utilize a powerful combination of leading-edge material characterization techniques to assess the order (crystallinity) and disorder (defects) in selected materials prepared by electrochemical methods. This includes materials with applications for magnetics, optics, and biocompatible coatings. My long-term goal is to develop more general and versatile strategies for controlling imperfections to create economical, higher performance thin film materials. This research program will produce highly qualified personnel whose skills in material synthesis and characterization are highly sought in the industrial and technology sectors, both within Canada and abroad. These skilled professionals will be able to utilize and develop novel instrumentation and techniques to advance the development of technological materials.