Title of Research Group: Nanoscience and nanostructures group

Principal Investigator: Prof. Michael Morris
Dr Parvaneh Mokarian

Institution: University College Cork

School: Chemistry

Research: Our group focuses on the development of nanoelectronic devices which has strong links to Intel. Our work centres on the development of self-organised block copolymers for the generation of precise surface patterns which can be transferred into substrates to create novel nanodimensioned device structures.  The group also uses chemical based processes for developing nanoengineered surface coatings and treatments which have superior function compared to standard materials. 

Techniques: GISAXS (Grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering)

Facilities: Diamond Light Source

Beamlines: I07 (DLS)

Group (as of 2014): 6 Ph.D. and 6 postdocs

Participating group members at SR/FEL/neutron facilities (period 2008-2014):
1 Ph.D and 2 PD at Diamond Light Source facility, 2012 and 2015

Impact: Due to the small dimension of features (sub-20 nm) in block copolymer patterns, GISAXS is an excellent method to provide information on uniformity and order of the patterns. Other methods such as atomic force microscope (AFM) only provide information on a very small area of the sample.

Quote: Cian Cummins, PhD student

“Access to Diamond light sources for my PhD enabled me to understand the mechanism of structure formation in polymer thin films. I also learned to collaborate with a multinational research team with different expertise.”

Publication Highlights:
Papers in preparation
Website: http://ambercentre.ie/people/prof-mick-morris