PHOTOFRAGMENTATION AND PHOTODEPOSITION

RESEARCH DESCRIPTION

By utilizing luminescence and mass spectroscopic techniques to study the photolytic properties of metal organic molecules, we have discovered fragmentation pathways and identified the conditions for producing the desired materials in the gas phase. We have obtained action spectra and identified the bound or dissociative state origins of these species by monitoring the wavelength dependencies of specific photoproducts. Through these studies, activation of specific reaction channels to control the photolytic processes are realized. We can use these results to discover deposition conditions that favor the production of the desired material in the gas phase, which may have implications for material deposition. Laser photochemistry of volatile metal-containing molecules is used to deposit films and patterned structures of metals and semiconductors on substrates, also known as Laser-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (LCVD).

Recent Publications:

Rutkowski, P.X. and Zink, J.I. Inorg. Chem.(2009), 48(4), 1655.