The Semiconductor Growth and Devices Project supports the III-V semiconductor optoelectronics industry with research related to the epitaxial growth of III-V materials and fundamentally new device structures. Project members are working with industry to develop composition standards and improve the measurement accuracy of alloy composition and in situ measurements during epitaxial growth in order to facilitate device modeling and improve the yield of growth services.

Tools for analyzing the impurity concentrations of source materials with unprecedented sensitivity are being developed. Project members are also addressing issues of uniformity measurement and improvement in self-assembled quantum dots, and the use of strain to enable nanostructure ordering. GaN quantum nanowires are grown and characterized for use in light sources, sensors and advanced microscopy.

The Optical Materials Metrology Project develops and applies methods for the characterization of optoelectronic materials. CW and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements and nonlinear optical analysis are correlated with complementary methods such as x-ray diffraction imaging and cathodoluminescence for studies of the optical, electronic, and structural features of bulk substrates and thin films. The current focus is the group III-nitrides used in short wavelength lasers and light emitting diodes for solid state lighting. Precision measurement of the optical constants supports device design in the industry. Research has extended to GaN quantum nanowire devices and metrology for applications including nanoscale microscopy and chemical and biomedical sensing

The Nanostructure Fabrication and Metrology Project develops measurement techniques and new devices for metrology based on epitaxial semiconductor nanostructures. It develops modeling, fabrication and metrology methods for single photon sources and detectors and photonic crystals for application to new quantum-based radiometry standards, quantum computing and quantum cryptography. The Project also measures the fundamental properties of self-assembled quantum dot structures for lasers, detectors, and optical amplifiers.