AMPEL Building

At UBC, condensed matter physics spans this wide range of theoretical and experimental research on materials of current interest, with considerable effort also devoted to applications and the development of new materials and processes. Topics of current interest include the growth of semiconductor films using molecular beam epitaxy, the development of optical materials and devices by engineering them at the nanometer scale, Crystal growth and high temperature super-conductors, and utilizing unstable particles as probes for the magnetic fields in novel materials.

TRIUMF

In order to successfully pursue research in these areas, the department has extensive facilities available for sample preparation, mainly in the Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory (AMPEL). Also on campus is TRIUMF, which houses one of the two best facilities in the world for the use of µSR, which uses decaying muons to probe the inner workings of condensed matter systems. The ISAC facility at TRIUMF will soon bring other new experimental capabilities such as ß-NMR, which proves to be 10 orders of magnitude more sensitive than conventional NMR. There are also opportunities for access to major facilities elsewhere such as the synchrotron at Brookhaven.

100 nm thick Al_0.15Ga_0.85As air-bridge with 460 nm pitch lattice of through-holes.

The Photonics and Nanostructures Laboratory is involved in the growth of optical devices on 5nm-500nm length scales. The hope is to be able to control the photonic and electronic eigenstates of the structures; by utilizing etching, electron beam lithography and deposition techniques to construct 3 dimensional semiconductor microstructures. The successful development of this technology will serve as the foundation of the next and the next-to-next generation of photonics and electronics.

The molecular beam epitaxy machine grows crystals by depositing one layer of atoms at at time.

The Molecular Beam Epitaxy Lab is involved in semiconductor film growth, modelling and electronic and optical properties. Specifically, the use of Nitrides and Bismides and the fabrication of nanostructures utilizing deposition techniques. This group pioneered the use of diffuse light scattering to dynamically monitor surface morphology, and is currently researching the modeling of surface morphology and electronic structure of deposited films.

A magnet floats on its magnetic field atop a Superconductor.

The Superconductivity Group is one of the world leaders in high quality crystal growth, and the production of high temperature superconductors. At their disposal are several world class laboratories located within AMPEL, including a solid state chemistry lab, used to grow high quality crystals; and a film growth lab, which is used to develop materials for the electronic applications of superconductors. Crystal growth research aside; this groups research interests center on the growth and analysis of high temperature superconductors; including industrial links to the Quantum-Computing firm D-Wave Systems.

The smallest UBC ever written. Letters are a mere 2 nm wide and consist of CO molecules on a Cu surface, individually positioned and imaged by a low-temperature STM.

Scanning Tunnel Microscopy (STM) is a world famous technique renown for its capability of imaging the electron clouds surrounding the atoms in real space, but it is capable of many more feats such as: Move and position atoms and molecules individually; Perform spectroscopy including spin polarization with sub-mV accuracy both in real and momentum space; Can film with time resolution ranging from hours down to picoseconds; Probe a large variety of conductive samples. The inherent versatility of STM has made it one of the most central tools for modern condensed matter physics.

Artistic impression of a quantum spin liquid.

The Quantum Materials Laboratory is located in the AMPEL Building and is comprised of the two research groups lead by G.A. Sawatzky and A. Damascelli. The research program involves the fabrication as well as the theoretical and spectroscopic study of novel complex systems and nanostructured materials. The goal is to develop new approaches and understanding in the quantum theory of solids, and define new pathways for the fabrication of materials and structures with innovative physical properties.

Despite their single-atom thickness, graphene flakes suspended as part of an electronic device show up clearly in an SEM micrograph.

The Quantum Devices Laboratory builds nanoscale electronic devices, then measures them at  temperatures low enough (1 Kelvin down to 10mK) that electronic properties are dominated by coherent quantum mechanical effects.  We work primarily with two-dimensional electron gases in GaAs or graphene---two material systems in which top-down lithography can easily define structures on the scale of the Fermi wavelength, and where gate voltages applied to the device offer in-situ control over quantum mechanical degrees of freedom.

The YBaCuO parent compound

The Condensed Matter Theory group is pursuing research at the forefront of many of the most exciting current developments: high-temperature superconductivity, quantum dots, polaron physics, spintronics, topological insulators, transition metal oxides, large scale quantum phenomena, quantum magnetism, superfluidity and cold atomic gases, geometrical phases of strongly correlated particles, quantum information, nonequilibrium statistical physics of disordered solids, and protein folding.