Zaarah Mohamed with Jesse Berezovsky

Connecting Optical, Structural and Spin-dependent Properties for Films of Quantum Dots

The project aims to discern the connection between structural, optical, and spin-dependent properties for films of semiconductor nanoparticles. These films are to be created through various methods involving solutions of quantum dots, and will vary in thickness and uniformity. The structural and optical properties of these films are to be measured using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical spectroscopy; light/spin interactions are then to be characterized in a pump-probe Faraday rotation experiment. By systematically varying the film deposition parameters, connections between the films’ structural, optical, and spin-dependent properties will be explored. An understanding of how the deposition parameters affect these properties will enable experiments that require high concentrations of quantum dots, and ultimately may find application in integrated spintronic/photonic devices.