In this Faculty Early Career Development Program award funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Bowers will study nanostructured III-V semiconductor systems using enhanced sensitivity nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Ultrahigh sensitivity NMR techniques will be developed, including solid-state optical pumping, spin inject dynamic nuclear polarization, and magnetoresistance detection. Some of the examples that will be examined include structural studies of dopant complex bonding geometries, the detection of skyrmions in the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE), and the determination of quasi-Landau level structure and magnetic moments of composite Fermions in the characterization of ordering and phase domains in semiconductor alloys including the III-V nitrides. Some of these experiments will be conducted at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL). The education plan will include sponsorship of undergraduate research at NHMFL, the development of computer-assisted chemical education and the virtual classroom, and expansion of a highly successful NMR seminar series. One goal of this project is to demonstrate the potential of NMR to provide new information about nanostructured electronic materials which may not be available by any other analytical measurement. All of the systems of interest have novel device applications, such as in various types of field effect transistors and in blue- or ultraviolet-light diode lasers. The educational part of this CAREER grant will promote an understanding of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for both undergraduate and graduate students through classroom work, seminars, and hands-on research in one of the world's best a settings for research with high magnetic fields.
