Future quantum technologies will require high-efficiency, on-demand sources of entangled photons. A possible route to building such light sources employs two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors interfaced with a source of Cooper pairs. To investigate the possibility of such devices, we are testing methods to make high transparency n-type contacts, p-type contacts, and...
Carbon Nanotubes are a unique family of nanostructures that have shown remarkable promise for mechanical, electrical, and optical applications. Fundamentally similar to the earlier discovered Buckminsterfullerene (C₆₀), carbon nanotubes are hollow cylinders formed from a single sheet of carbon atoms. The research presented in this dissertation investigates several carbon nanotube...
In nanoscale materials, the Coulombic interaction between electrons are stronger than in bulk materials. These stronger interactions, caused by confinement and reduced dielectric screening, have interesting consequences for light-matter interactions. In carbon nanotubes (CNTs), strong interactions can enhance the impact ionization process, and thus assist photocurrent generation in CNTs. Conversely,...
This dissertation explores the engineering of carbon nanotube electronic devices using atomic force microscopy (AFM) based techniques. A possible application for such devices is an electronic interface with individual biological molecules. This single molecule biosensing application is explored both experimentally and with computational modeling.
Scanning probe microscopy techniques, such as...