Most electronic devices have one or more interfaces between layers of a semiconductor material to which, alternatingly, negatively and positively charged impurity atoms, or dopants, have been added. These layers selectively allow the movement of negatively charged electrons and their positively charged counterparts, holes, for the devices to work; but these interfaces can reduce the devices' efficiency.
Rohan Mishra, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, aims to avoid these interfaces by discovering and developing a new class of semiconductor materials with a five-year $588,795 CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. The NSF CAREER awards support junior faculty who model the role of teacher-scholar through outstanding research, excellence in education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organization.
