Experimental experience

My first foray into Surface Physics was in the summer of 2006, when I undertook a summer project on self-assembled nano-templates on III-V semiconductor substrates with Gavin Bell as my supervisor. My final year project, which ran between October 2006 and April 2007 was conducted on the same machine, although I was working on a totally different project. Gavin was again my supervisor for this project.

In July 2007, having just graduated I started on a PhD research project with Gavin as my supervisor. A more detailed account of my research can be found here, but in brief I am studying epitaxial thin films of MnSb on GaAs substrates.

During my time within the Surface and Interface Physics group at Warwick, I have used a number of vacuum chambers and have a solid foundation in vacuum technology. A wide variety of techniques have been employed to illucidate on a wide variety of physical properties. The following is a list, in particular order, of the techniques that I have used frequently throughout my time in the surface physics group at Warwick: MBE, LEED, RHEED, STM, SEM, EDAX, AFM, VSM, the SQUID, MEIS, AES, XPS, XRD, X-ray reflectivity and XMCD. There are also plans to take advantage of the co-axial impact collision ion scattering spectroscopy (CAICISS) machine at Warwick, which will complement the MEIS experimental data, and spin-polarised photoemission.

Last Updated:   16/03/12