Prof Vin Dhanak PhD

My main interests started out in adsorbate induced surface structures, which I investigated using normal incidence X-ray wavefield technique and LEED I-V, and using photoemission to investigate surface melting and high temperature phase transitions on semiconductor surfaces, and functionalization of carbon nanotubes and nano composite materials, The experience gained in these activities have been used to align my current research in line with the Universitiy's core strategies of developing research areas in renewable energy. I have developed one of the finest laboratories in the Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy, for photoemission investigations in advanced functional materials for energy conversion and storage, and high-k oxide thin films on semiconductors. My research is collaborative and inter-disciplinary, enabling me to make cross faculty, national and international collaborations,
as well as with industry. I also use national facilities like Diamond Light Source and Harwell National XPS centre for photoemission measurements.

Interfaces between substrates and thin films are a necessary and integral part of devices, from solar PV cells to transistors. Photoemission allows probing the interface structure and determine the band alignment between two semiconductor heterostructures. Much of this research is focussed on high-k dielectrics on semiconductors like silicon, germanium, gallium nitride and silicon carbide, the latter two being important semiconductors for high power applications.