Nanomechanical Surface Engineering by Probe Tips:
A Route to Nanomanufacture Quantum Electronics
MIT SEMINAR SERIES IN MANUFACTURING AND
PRODUCTIVITY
Place: Room 33-116 Time: 12:00 P.M. Tuesday, March 13th, 2007
Professor Curtis Taylor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, VCU
The ability to pattern quantum dots with controlled spatial positioning and uniform size is critical for the realization of future electronic devices with novel properties and performance that surpass present technology. This presentation will highlight recent work on the exploration of nano probe tips to mechanically pattern epitaxial quantum structures such as quantum dots. Probe tips are used to indent or stamp the surface of a semiconductor to create nano volumes of deformation, which alter the growth surface strain. These strained sites act to bias nucleation hence allowing for selective growth of epitaxial quantum dots. Patterns of quantum dots form above the underlying nanoindent template. Important issues needed to assess the limits and capabilities of this process as a viable nanomanufacturing technology will be discussed.
About the Speaker
Dr. Taylor is an Asst. Prof. Mechanical Engineering at the Virginia Commonwealth U. and the Director of VCU’s NanoManufacturing lab, a facility with the mission of investigating materials, tools, and techniques for enabling three-dimensional integrated structures, devices, and systems at the nanoscale. He received his B.S. degree (‘98) in Mechanical Engineering from the U. of Maryland, and his M.S. (‘02) and Ph.D. (‘05) in Electrical Engineering and Physics from the U. of Arkansas. Dr. Taylor’s research includes nanomanufacturing for the production of novel nanoelectronic and quantum devices, nanomechanical characterization of materials for development and improved reliability of nanodevices, and nanobiomechanics for cell biology and tissue engineering.
