Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The roots of the technological revolution which brought about personal computers, fast internet, digital cameras and flat panel displaysto mention just the commodity sectorcan be traced directly to the advances in engineering of very thin films of artificial materials. The highest performance electronic devices, such as transistors used in smartphones or satellites, and photonic devices such as semiconductor lasers supporting the ultra-high speed information transfer along the optical fiber networks are all based on highly perfect crystalline multilayers of semiconductor materials which are deposited using epitaxial processes. For such nanoengineering, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is arguably the most powerful tool. Because the process is conducted in ultra-high vacuum (UHV), contamination by foreign molecules is minimized. This is vital, since even a single contaminant atom in a strategic part of the nanostructure can alter its properties considerably. A UHV environment also enables unparalleled precision through real-time monitoring and control of the epitaxial process with sophisticated surface science instruments and other in-situ monitoring tools. Nevertheless, the technique is far from maturity; monitoring, understanding and controlling the processes involved in this technique continues to be a subject of intense research around the world. The proposed program will further our current understanding and improve the control of the MBE growth processes in arsenides- and antimondies-based heterostructures, aluminum and indium single-crystal superconducting layers, as well as related semiconductor-superconductor heterostructures. The research will focus on the most critical elements for the next generation devices with respect to aspects of epitaxial growth, i.e. surface processes and morphological control, interface formation, and strain control, as well as dislocation filtration for the case of so-called metamorphic buffers. Close feedback will be established with the performance of photonic and electronic devices fabricated using heterostructures relying on such optimized growth procedures. The program is expected to lead to new breakthroughs in the control of artificial materials at the atomic scale, which is critically important to further progress in areas of technology where device functionality increasingly relies on quantum phenomena. Examples include advanced photonics & ICT, quantum information processing, renewable energy harvesting and ultra-low power electronics. The resulting intellectual property, know-how and the steady stream of highly qualified personnel will leverage the strong position of the Canadian high-tech industry in the global markets.