UMR students are part of a team of researchers turning heads with a new technique to create tiny semiconducting materials, known as quantum dots.
Led by Massimo F. Bertino, assistant professor of physics at UMR, the research team is creating quantum dots via photolithography – a first that could write a new chapter in the field of micro-computing.
“Quantum dots are particles that have some interesting properties," says team member Lane Martin, a freshman from Rogersville, Mo. “The wavelength of light reemitted by these particles is dependent on the size of the particle. Not only are they an intriguing phenomenon, they also have applications in lasers, micro-computing, flexible optical displays, and even curing cancer, among other things."
Unlike conventional photolithography, which uses chemical deposition and etching to apply expensive materials like silver and gold to a surface, the research team’s technique involves mixing cadmium nitrate and thiourea in a silica gel to create cadmium sulfide.
The tiny particles of semiconducting materials are embedded into the silica gel by shining a laser on selected regions of the gels. The result is the creation of particles so small they have to be measured in “nanometers," or billionths of a meter.
These particles, or “quantum dots," are only a few nanometers in size, says Bertino. “Our cadmium sulfide quantum dots not only absorb light but they also emit light," he says. “By tuning the size of the particle, you can change the emission range.
Nanotechnology -- the next generation
“The inventions and products that will come out in the near future will astound and awe us," Martin says. “The devices in science fiction movies are quickly becoming a reality, and nanotechnology is how that reality will be realized. How could I not be interested in it?"
Want to learn more?
Listen to KUMR's feature as Massimo Bertino explains the quantum dot research, hosted by UMR's Vice Provost for Research Wayne Huebner
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