Fast
Switching devices are coming soon to you
Enno
Malguth, semiconductor researcher
Enno Malguth has come from Germany and spends most of
his time playing frisbee or with his semiconductors. The later
interest is a project that will result in us getting better
and faster electrical devices. Read more about his research
where he deals with things that are impossible to see with
the naked eye.
On April 12 2006, I basically did two things. In the morning
and early afternoon, I carried out experiments on semiconductor
samples. And later that day, I did the final bits of work
on a paper meant to be published in a scientific journal.
The samples I’m studying at the moment are GaN, a semiconductor
material used for high-performance electronics and optical
applications (e.g., white LEDs). To study its electronic
properties, I used cathodo luminescence. This means to irradiate
the specimen with an electron beam which causes the specimen
to emit light.
An investigation of the wavelength of the light provides insights
into the material’s properties crucial for the design of new
electronic devices. This kind of experiment is performed with
a purposely modified electron microscope. The evaluation and
analysis of the collected data will take a couple of weeks
and will eventually be published in a journal article.
Today, though, I first want to finish an article on previous
results, which I had been writing for the last few weeks.
So I implemented the suggestions my supervisor had given me,
enhanced some images and made the lay-out comply with the
guidelines of the journal. Now, it is ready for submission.
I am doing a PhD in physics at UTS. I research the electronic
properties of GaN and similar semiconductor materials. I spend
a lot of time in the laboratory conducting different kinds
of experiments. The experimental methods I use involve electron
microscopes, different types of lasers and liquid helium to
cool specimens down to -271°C. Further scanning probe
techniques are used for nano-scale imaging. The resulting
data I evaluate with the help of various computer programs.
This also involves a lot of thinking, scratching my head and
employing physical theories and models.
Eventually, I try to summarise my findings in form of a publication.
I also get to go to national and international conferences
to present my own results and to see what other scientists
are doing in the same field. This is funded by the university
and by research grants. After three years, I am going to finish
the PhD by writing a thesis containing the results of my work.
I haven’t decided yet, what I’m going to do afterwards. In
general, there are two opportunities: To stay and work at
university or a scientific institution allows relatively independent
research. Whereas working in the industry means higher income,
though more pressure, orientation on marketing issues and
higher workload. Of course, many other careers are possible
since as a physicist one learns general strategies to approach
complex problems.
When I had to decide whether and what I was going to study
at university, I was interested in anything having to do with
engineering, science, and creativity. From my time at school,
I knew that Chemistry wasn’t quite my thing. Eventually, I
decided to do what I regarded as the most fundamental of all
disciplines - physics. That would provide me with the basics
for whatever else I was going to do later on.
In the course of my studies, I specialised on solid-state
physics, which is the basis of IC electronics and nanotechnology.
By the end of my degree, I enjoyed science and research so
much, that I decided to do a PhD. This way, I can organise
my time relatively freely and I have got the opportunity to
contribute to the technological process and to do things which
haven’t been done before.
Me with a Scanning Electro Microscope - The attached block
saying things like MonoCL and gatan is the add on for cathodo
luminescence (CL) measurements. SEM and CL images are displayed
on the monitor behind.
Written by Enno Mulguth - Edited by Catherine Beehag
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