RESEARCH

Professor Hicks is interested in the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of electronic materials. His research focuses on the molecular kinetics of the deposition reactions. These kinetics can be incorporated into transport models of the reactor and the model used for process design, optimization and control.

Professor Hicks' research group is studying the CVD of compound semiconductors, GaAs, InP, InGaAs, GaN, CdTe, HgTe, and CdZnTe, and of transition metals Pt and W. These studies have revealed many important aspects of the deposition chemistry. We have discovered that CVD surface reactions are "site-specific". For example, when trimethylgallium decomposes on an As dimer, it incorporates gallium into the crystal lattice. However, when it decomposes on a different site, i.e., a second-layer As atom, the trimethylgallium dehydrogenates and incorporates carbon as well as gallium into the crystal. In order to produce electronic materials with the desired properties, the chemical engineer must understand the site-specific chemistry of semiconductors and control this chemistry during CVD and other processing steps.

Chemical vapor deposition is a new field for chemical engineering research. There are many opportunities for graduate studies in this area. Projects sponsored by Professor Hicks include numerical modeling of CVD reactors, measurement of the kinetics of coupled gas and surface reactions, and ultrahigh vacuum studies of the surface chemistry of semiconductors. In addition, new electronic and photonic devices are grown by CVD in Hicks' laboratory.

For more information, mail hicks@ucla.edu

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