| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/S99471/01 |
| Title: |
Band-structure engineering with dilute nitrides to explore new regimes of electron dynamics |
| Principal Investigator: |
Patane, Professor A |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Sch of Physics & Astronomy |
| Organisation: |
University of Nottingham |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
10 January 2005 |
Ends: |
09 January 2008 |
Value (£): |
273,038
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Condensed Matter Physics |
Materials Characterisation |
| Materials Synthesis & Growth |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
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| Related Grants: |
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| Panel History: |
| Panel Date | Panel Name | Outcome |
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21 Apr 2004
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Materials Fellowships 2004 - Interview Panel
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Deferred
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19 Mar 2004
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Materials Fellowships 2004 Sift Panel
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Deferred
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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In recent years, research on dilute nitride semiconductors has become one of the most active and topical research areas in semiconductor physics due to the unusual physical properties of these new material systems. In dilute nitrides, a small atomic percentage of nitrogen is incorporated in a conventional compound semiconductor, such as GaAs. The electronegativity of the nitrogen atoms combined with the stretching and compressing of neighbouring bonds results in a strong perturbation of the host crystal, which greatly modifies the electronic properties, leading to a huge band gap bowing with increasing N content, a property of great interest for optical fibre communications.The research of the applicant funded by EPSRC within the Fast Track Scheme has already made an important contribution to current research on dilute nitrides. In a recent paper (Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 126802, 2003), the applicant has shown that dilute nitrides may also provide the condensed matter physicist and device engineer with a system in which the electronic properties can be tailor made by means of quantum confinement. This work indicates that these material systems could be exploited to design novel band-structure engineered devices, thus offering interesting and unique possibilities to reveal new and exciting fundamental physics.Now the applicant plans to use this concept of band structure engineering to design and investigate a wide range of non-linear devices and photonic structures based on dilute nitrides, which could give access to new regimes of quantum optical and transport phenomena. Nitrogen will offer new degrees of freedom in the design of a wide range of structures needed to generate specific transport and optical properties. This work could dramatically increase the power and scope of band-structure engineering as a tool for the design of a new generation of electronic devices.This is a wide ranging proposal, and links together the concepts and principles of diverse areas of physics and engineering including crystal growth, transport and optical phenomena in high magnetic field, theoretical modelling, quantum chaos, and the exploitation of non-linear charge transport for high frequency electronics, of interest for a wide range of practical applications including the emerging field of THz imaging in medical and biological studies.This project is interdisciplinary in nature, being at the interface between physical science and engineering, and builds on long-standing and highly productive collaborations with Dr. M. Hopkinson and Dr. G. Hill at the EPSRC National Centre for III-V Technologies in the University of Sheffield with regard to the growth and device fabrication of new semiconductor material systems. This synergy will be further strengthened by a close collaboration with an international team of research scientists and industrial partners.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk |