Current tasks within the project include:

Uncooled IR Detectors: Ferroelectric PbZrTiO₃ (PZT) films are being developed for IR detector applications through the pyroelectric response of the ferroelectric. Both doped and undoped PZT films have been processed into simple detectors with detectivity exceeding 5 x 10 ⁸ Hz ^1/2 cm/K, and are currently being modified to incorporate a silicon-integrated air bridge design for enhanced thermal isolation from the substrate and resultant increases in detectivity.

Giga-Bit DRAM Capacitors: The requirements for high permittivity dielectrics for future generation DRAM capacitors is being addressed through the development of a novel integration scheme of BaSrTiO₃ thin film capacitors to silicon. Permittivities of >700 have been obtained for a micron-scale capacitor integrated to a silicon substrate with current efforts focused on sub-micron scale devices.

Colossal Magnetoresistive Materials (CMR): Novel development of thin film CMR materials has resulted in films that have electronically adjustable resistivities. Application development for these materials focuses on memory devices and tuned circuit devices.

High Temperature Thick Film Superconducting Wires: The development of photo-assisted MOCVD has resulted in the ability to grow high quality YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x (YBCO) superconducting films at very high growth rates (exceeding 1 micron/min). These rates are conductive to the production of thick films of YBCO, and are being applied to the integration of YBCO to flexible metallic substrates for applications as thick film superconducting wires with high critical current densities.

Bionic Eye: Thin film oxide optical detectors have been developed with high stabilities in aqueous solutions. Such detectors in micron-scale sizes are being developed for direct implantation into retinas for the restoration of sight lost to retinal damage.

Thin Film Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: A new design thin film solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is being developed operating at intermediate temperatures through the exploitation of cost- effective thin film fabrication processes to advance its commercialization. The thin film fuel cell will assure lower temperature operation, and higher power densities than traditional bulk solid oxide fuel cells.

Biographies

Patents
Three-Terminal Non-Volatile Ferroelectric SuperConductor Thin Film Field Effect Transistor
He Lin Alex Ignatiev Naijuan Wu

Treating Retinal Damage by Implanting Thin Film Optical Detectors
Alex Ignatiev Naijuan Wu

Birefringent Grating Polarizing Beam Splitter
Yansong Chen Shangquing Liu Alex Ignatiev Naijuan Wu

Method for Switching the Properties of Perovskite Thin Film Resistors"
Shangquing Liu Alex Ignatiev Naijuan Wu

For more information contact
Project Leader:
Professor Alex Ignatiev at ignatiev@uh.edu

Task Leaders:
Professor Nai Juan Wu - Perovskite Oxides - at naijwu@uh.edu
Dr. Pen Chu Chou - Superconducting Oxides - at penchou@space.svec.uh.edu

SVEC is a NASA Commercial Space Center (CSC)
Space Vacuum Epitaxy Center Science and Research Building One room 724 University of Houston Houston, Texas 77204-5004	Phone... 713-743-3621 FAX...... 713-747-7724 Web Spinner: Dave Moore

Last modified: 05 Sep 2001