The focus of this group is the growth and characterization of various carbon materials with an emphasis on electronic and biological properties. Doped and un doped nano and polycrystalline diamond, diamond like carbon, and carbon nanotubes are the interests of the research. The deposition of these materials is performed in two plasma CVD chambers and a hot filament system. The characterization techniques used to study their properties are AES, LEED, XPS, ARUPS, Raman Spectroscopy, Field Emission and Thermionic Field Emission Measurements, PEEM, AFM, and EFM. Electron emission properties are studied for a variety of applications including compact field emission devices and thermionic energy converters. The biological response to these materials is also examined with an emphasis on blood compatibility.

Current Research Projects

Title		Project Members	Group
Field emission of carbon based materials		Meng Liang	Carbon Nanostructures
Temperature-dependent work function and energy distribution study of the N-doped diamond surface		Yingjie Tang Franz A M Koeck	Carbon Nanostructures
Albumin and Fibrinogen Adsorption on MWCVD Diamond Films		Jacob Garguilo	Carbon Nanostructures
Vacuum Thermionic Energy Conversion		Franz A M Koeck Eugene Bryan Joshua Smith Yingjie Tang	Carbon Nanostructures
Carbon nanotube growth and field emission		Yunyu Wang Sanju Gupta	Carbon Nanostructures
Growth of Single- and Double- wall carbon nanotubes via MW CVD		Sanju Gupta Yunyu Wang	Carbon Nanostructures
Temperature Dependent Field Emission Imaging (T-FEEM) from Carbon Nanotubes		Sanju Gupta Yunyu Wang	Carbon Nanostructures
Selective Photothreshold Determination with the PEEM		Jacob Garguilo	Carbon Nanostructures
Nanotribology of Nanocrystalline Diamond Films using Atomic Force Microscopy		Sarah Reising Brian Rodriguez	Carbon Nanostructures
Nanocrystalline Diamond Films for MEMS and Coating Applications		Leigh Winfrey Sarah Reising	Carbon Nanostructures