Michael Dudley

Professor 

Professor Dudley's research interests focus on crystal growth and characterization of defect structures in crystals with a view to determining their origins. The primary technique used is Synchrotron Topography which enables analysis of defects and generalized strain fields in single crystals in general, with particular emphasis on semiconductor, optoelectronic, and optical crystals, especially SiC, GaN, AlN, InP CdZnTe, HgCdTe, AlN, B12As2, ZnSe as well as proteins and other related materials. Establishing the relationship between crystal growth conditions and resulting defect distributions is a particular thrust area of interest to Dudley, as is the correlation between electronic/optoelectronic device performance and defect distribution. Also of interest is the understanding of the origins and extent of damage introduced during crystal surface preparation. Current in situ studies of defect formation during PVT and CVD crystal growth of SiC are consistent with these themes. Other techniques routinely used in such analysis include Transmission Electron Microscopy, High Resolution Triple-Axis X-ray Diffraction, Atomic Force Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Nomarski Optical Microscopy, Conventional Optical Microscopy, IR Microscopy and Fluorescent Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy. Dudley’s group is playing a prominent role in the development of SiC growth, helping to characterize crystals grown by many of the commercial entities involved.