Electronic Materials Related Research
A Study of the Solution-Based Synthesis of N-Doped ZnO, Mn- and Co-Doped ZnO, and (N,Mn)- and (N,Co)-Codoped ZnO
Project Description
Zinc oxide is an important material because of its electronic properties, ease of synthesis, low cost of synthesis and for being more environmentally friendly than some alternatives. When transition metals are added to zinc oxide, it is a potentially useful material for developing spin-based electronics (spintronics). Spintronics employs the magnetic property or spin of electrons to carry signals and process information where conventional electronics uses only the charge of the electrons. Spintronics has been proposed as the future replacement for conventional electronics, which is approaching its limit of miniaturization, because it would allow more information to be processed with less material.
For the development of spintronics to be realized, a better understanding of how the synthetic, compositional and structural details determine the materials electronic and magnetic properties is essential. This joint proposal with Northwest Nazarene University, Boise State University, and Rochester Institute of Technology seeks a solution-based route to zinc oxide containing magnetic elements. A particular emphasis of the project will be to systematically relate synthetic and process conditions to structural and compositional details and to electronic and magnetic properties of the materials.
Collaborators
- Professor Jerry Harris, Dept. of Chemistry, Northwest Nazarene University
- Professor Alex Punnoose, Dept. of Physics, Boise State University
- Aaron Thurber, Research Engineer, Dept. of Physics, Boise State University