Research
Prof. Fitzgerald's group's research activities attack the current limitations of electronic materials, especially limitations created by imperfections in materials such as point, line, and planar defects. Much of the group's efforts are focused on lattice-mismatched semiconductor systems, in which layers in electronic materials and devices have different lattice parameters. Such material combinations have potential in printing, storage, display, communications, and interconnect applications. But the utility of these materials depends on our ability to understand and eliminate crystalline defects which can be generated due to the lattice-mismatch between semiconductor layers. Current projects involve the fabrication of GeSi/Si detectors and InGaAs/GaAs emitters which may be used in fiber-to-the-home applications; GeSi/Si structures for integrated, micro-mechanical devices; visible AlInGaP LEDs and lasers integrated on Si and GaAs; III-V microwave transistors integrated on Si; III-V solar cells integrated on Si; basic studies concerning the generation, propagation, and interaction of defects in these heterostructures; and investigations of microscopic failure mechanisms in optoelectronic and electronic devices.