Simple Fabrication and Functional Measurements of Complex Materials

Jennifer Hampton

My research interests are at the interface of physics, chemistry, and materials science and are focused on understanding and controling the fabrication of metallic thin films and layered nanostructures. I utilize and extend scanning probe microscopes and electrochemistry techniques to explore the various facets of this interdisciplinary research. My current research objectives involve understanding, exploiting, and manipulating the formation processes involved in the electrochemical deposition of metallic thin films. Specifically, I employ electrodeposition to fabricate single and multi-component thin films composed of magnetic and nonmagnetic materials and characterize them with atomic force microscopy. With the insight gleaned from this investigation, I will then be able to tailor the micro/nanoscale structure of these films for specific applications such as magnetic read heads in computer hard drives.