The Department of Physics believes that research should be an integral part of the undergraduate experience. As part of the implementation of this philosophy, we require a senior thesis that also satisifies the University's Writing Intensive Course requirement. In the Tate research group, there are many opportunities for undergraduates to contribute to a research project that will result in a senior thesis. Please contact me in your junior year, as research should begin no later than the first day of Fall quarter in your senior year, and preferably during the junior year. URISC support during the summer following the junior year is a possibility if you begin work early.
Our work is in electronic materials, and current projects are focussed on understanding transparent conductors, which are materials that simultaneously exhibit opical transparencyand electrical conductivity. A typical example of a TC is ITO, tin-doped indium oxide, which is ubiquitous as a transparent electrode in solar cells, flat panel displays, and smart windows. Our work explores more exotic TCs whose materials properties must be understood to improve their performance in these applications and also the emerging application of transparent electronics.
Undergraduates particpate in weekly group meetings, work with graduate students to learn (depending on their projects) thin-film deposition, measurement of transport properties (resistivity, Hall effect, Seebeck effect), optical properties (reflectivity and transmitivity), structural properties (X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy), and other techniques. Some work may result in publication in a journal or conference proceedings. Listed below are the projects completed by undergraduates in my lab.
| Evan deBlander (Honors, 2009) | Characterization of BaCuSF Thin Films Grown in Excess Copper, by Pulsed Laser Deposition |
| Alden Jurling (2008) | Impedance Analysis and Breakdown Voltage of Dielectric Materials |
| Joseph Kinney (2007) | Excitonic structure in the optical absorption spectra of BaCuChF (Ch=S, Se, Te) |
| David Mack (2007) | Dielectric studies of BaSnO3 |
| Susan Guyler (2005) (with URISC support) | |
| Levi Kilcher (2003) (co-supervised by D. H. McIntyre) | Infrared properties of transparent conductors |
| Martin Held (2002) | Fractography of a Nd:YAG single crystal |
| Derek Tucker (Honors, 2002) (co-supervised by D. H. McIntyre) | Optical Characterization of Transparent Conductive Thin Films |
| Dara Easley (Honors, 2002) | Room Temperature Seebeck Measurements on CuSc1-xMgxO2+y Transparent Conductive Thin Films |
| Ross Brody, (2001) (co-supervised by D. H. McIntyre) | Band gap analysis of doped and undoped CuCrO2 thin films |
| Diedrich Schmidt (2000) | P-type electrical conduction in transparent conducting oxides |
| Nate Bezayiff (1999) | Circuit to observe quantum conductance |
| Brandon van Leer (1998) | Analysis of YBa2Cu3O7 films by X-ray diffraction |
| Joseph Neal (1998) | Integrated Laboratory Experiences in Physics Education |
| Andrew R. Fowler (1995) | Current dependence of reisitivity of YBaCuO in zero magnetic field |
| Amy J. Spofford (1994) | An analysis of the current-voltage characteristics of YBa2Cu3O7 in the vortex state |
| Jeffrey Arasmith (1993) | An introduction to superconductors for undergraduate research assistants |
| Anupama Bhat (1992) | The temperature and magnetic field dependence of the activation energy in YBa2Cu3O7 in the flux creep region |
| REU undergraduates: Elia Nelson, Megan van der Burch, Karen Hirst, Kim Schulze, Sean Herring, Jill Riley, Chris Tebow | |
