9714915 Vengurlekar Description: The research "Ultrafast Processes in Semiconductors, their Nanostructures and Optoelectronic Devices, Award in Indian Currency" is a new collaboration linking the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)in Bombay with the University of New Mexico, the CNRS Laboratoire de Microstructures et de Microelectronique in France, and Bell Laboratories, New Jersey. This research in ultrafast optoelectronics developed out of an earlier collaboration (INT-9022623) between PI Shah and co-PI Arora of TIFR that established the first and only picosecond spectroscopy laboratory in India. The scientific focus is: (1) energy relaxation processes and rates in low-dimensional semiconductors and the effect of relaxation dynamics on the performance of optoelectronic devices fabricated from such structures; (2) development of fabrication and characterization techniques for photoconducting switches and electro-optic samplers, and (3) the use of such optoelectronic devices for measuring the response of ultrafast electronic devices. Scope: This award will provide the linkage costs for US and Indian collaborators. The research, while in the realm of fundamental physics, is in an emerging area that combines ultrafast optics and electronics. The topic is of considerable current interest and the devices under study may in the future be integral to all communication and computer systems. In addition to initiating new scientific collaborations, this project will contribute toward the ultrafast spectroscopy laboratory at TIFR becoming a world-class facility. All the experimental work will be performed at TIFR and will include advanced graduate students and postdocs. The scientific and technological benefits are mutual and the research results will be published in international journals. ***
