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Prof. Suneel Kodambaka, UCLA

 

Dr. Suneel Kodambaka    Professor Suneel Kodambaka
Tel. (310) 206-8174
FAX (310) 206-7353
Email: kodambaka@ucla.edu

Assistant Professor; University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL (1997-2002), Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering (September 2002); Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL (1995-1996), M.S. in Mechanical Engineering (December 1996); Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India (1991-1995), Bachelor of Technology in Metallurgical Engineering (May 1995).

 

Research Interests

The focus of our group is to develop the science underlying the synthesis of advanced materials for applications in the areas of energy storage, optoelectronics, thermoelectrics, catalysis and hard coatings. Our group aims to achieve progress in these technologically-important areas through a detailed atomic-level understanding of the mass transport mechanisms, chemical reaction kinetics, and material thermodynamics controlling the material synthesis. We use a wide variety of in situ (as well as ex situ) characterization tools such as scanning probe microscopy (STM/AFM), low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM), scanning/transmission electron microscopy (SEM/TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to investigate the kinetics of nucleation, growth, and thermal/chemical stability of nanostructures.

Ongoing research collaborations:

  • Dr. Vincent Gambin (Northrop Grumman Space & Technology): InAs and GaAs nanowire growth and characterization studies.
  • Prof. Kang L. Wang (UCLA): Chemical vapor deposition of ZnO nanowires.
  • Prof. Robert Hicks (UCLA): Self-catalyzed growth of InP nanowires.
  • Prof. Ivan Petrov (Univ. Illinois) and Prof. S.V. Khare (Univ. Toledo):

    * Graphene growth on SiC and metal surfaces in STM and LEEM.
    * Effect of low-energy ion irradiation on sputter-deposited TiN(001) surface morphological evolution
    * Vicinal Si(124) surface faceting transition kinetics

  • Prof. Cristian Ciobanu (Colorado School of Mines): Graphene growth on Pd(111).
  • Prof. Rasit Koc (SIUC): Carbothermal reduction reactions in C-coated titania particles.

 

Area of Thesis Guidance

In situ microscopy, nanowire & nanocluster growth mechanisms,  surface  thermodynamics, thin film physics, and kinetics of phase transformations & chemical reactions. 

 

Recent Publications

Refereed publications

  1. (Invited review) S. Kodambaka, "New insights into the vapor-liquid-solid growth of nanowires" Critical Reviews – Thin Solid Films. (to be published, 2008).
  2. (Invited book chapter) J. Bareno, S. Kodambaka, S.V. Khare, W. Swiech, V. Petrova, I. Petrov, and J.E. Greene, "TiN Surface Dynamics: Role of Surface and Bulk Mass Transport Processes," Eds., O. Miranda, M. Carbajal, L.M. Montano, O. Rosas-Ortiz, and S.A.T. Velazquez, AIP Conf. Proc. 885, 205 (2007).
  3. (Invited book chapter) F.M. Ross, J. Tersoff, S. Kodambaka, and M.C. Reuter, "Growth and surface structure of silicon nanowires observed in real time in the electron microscope," in Microscopy of Semiconducting Materials Part V, Springer Proceedings in Physics 107, 283 (2006).
  4. (Invited review) S. Kodambaka, S.V. Khare, I. Petrov, and J.E. Greene, "Two-dimensional island dynamics: Role of step energy anisotropy," Surf. Sci. Rep. 60, 55 (2006).
  5. (Invited book chapter) T.-Y. Lee, S. Kodambaka, J.G. Wen, R. Twesten, J.E. Greene, and I. Petrov, in Nanoscale Magnetic Oxides and Bio-world, Edited by I. Nedkov and Ph. Tailhades, (Heron Press, Sofia, 2004), p. 156.

 

Post doctoral research at IBM (Jan. 2005-'07)

  1. K.A. Dick, S. Kodambaka, M.C. Reuter, K. Deppert, L. Samuelson, W. Seifert, L.R. Wallenberg, and F.M. Ross, "Nanowires composed of group IV and III-V axial heterostructures," Scripta Mat. (in press).
  2. K.A. Dick, S. Kodambaka, M.C. Reuter, K. Deppert, L. Samuelson, W. Seifert, L.R. Wallenberg, and F.M. Ross, "The morphology of axial and branched nanowire heterostructures," Nano Lett. 7, 1817 (2007).
  3. S. Kodambaka, J. Tersoff, and F.M. Ross, "Ge nanowire growth below the eutectic temperature," Science 316, 729 (2007).
  4. C. Lang, S. Kodambaka, F.M. Ross, and D.J.H. Cockayne, "Real time observation of GeSi/Si(001) island shrinkage due to surface alloying during Si capping," Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 226104 (2006).
  5. S. Kodambaka, J.B. Hannon, R.M. Tromp, and F.M. Ross, "Control of Si nanowire growth by oxygen," Nano Lett. 6, 1292 (2006).
  6. S. Kodambaka, J. Tersoff, M.C. Reuter, and F.M. Ross, "Diameter-independent kinetics in the vapor-liquid-solid growth of Si nanowires," Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 096105 (2006). Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science & Technology 13, issue 11 (2006).
  7. J.B. Hannon, S. Kodambaka, F.M. Ross, and R.M. Tromp, "The influence of the surface migration of gold on the growth of silicon nanowires," Nature 440, 69 (2006).
  8. (Invited) S. Kodambaka, J.B. Hannon, R.M. Tromp, M.C. Reuter, J. Tersoff, and F.M. Ross, "Si and Ge Nanowire Growth Mechanisms Observed using In Situ Microscopy," Microsc. Microanal. 12, 472 (2006).

 

Invited talks and seminars

  1. S. Kodambaka, "Role of Al in Au-catalyzed growth of Si nanowires," Microscopy of Semiconducting Materials XVI Int'l conf., Oxford University, Oxford, UK, March 2009.
  2. S. Kodambaka, "In situ TEM studies of nanowire nucleation and growth kinetics," Dept. Materials Science, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, October 2008.
  3. S. Kodambaka, "Dynamics of Highly Anisotropic Surfaces," Materials Science and Technology Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, October 2008.
  4. S. Kodambaka, J. Tersoff, B.-J. Kim, M.C. Reuter, K.B. Reuter, E.A. Stach, and F.M. Ross, "Nucleation and growth of nanowires," Microscopy and Microanalysis, Albuquerque, NM, August 2008.
  5. S. Kodambaka, J. Tersoff, M.C. Reuter, K.B. Reuter, and F.M. Ross, "Real-time measurements of nanowire growth kinetics," SIAM Conf. Mathematical Aspects of Materials, Philadelphia, PA, May 2008.
  6. S. Kodambaka, "Thermal stability and morphological evolution of transition-metal nitride thin films," Int'l Conf. on Metallurgical Coatings and Thin Films (ICMCTF), San Diego, CA, April 2008.
  7. S. Kodambaka, J. Tersoff, M.C. Reuter, K.B. Reuter, and F.M. Ross, "Ge nanowire growth kinetics," MRS Spring meeting, San Francisco, CA, March 2008.
  8. S. Kodambaka, "In situ TEM studies of nanowire nucleation and growth kinetics," NSF-MEXT program, California Nanosystems Institute UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, March 2008.
  9. S. Kodambaka, "In situ microscopy studies of nucleation and growth of nanowires," Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, February 2008.
  10. S. Kodambaka, J. Tersoff, B.-J. Kim, M.C. Reuter, K.B. Reuter, E.A. Stach, and F.M. Ross, "In situ studies of nanowire nucleation and growth kinetics," 35th annual Physics and Chemistry of Semiconductor Interfaces Conference (PCSI-35), Santa Fe, NM, January 2008.
  11. S. Kodambaka, J. Tersoff, M.C. Reuter, K.B. Reuter, and F.M. Ross, "Synthesis of Nanowires: New insights into the vapor-liquid-solid process," CINT Workshop, Albuquerque, NM, January 2008.
  12. S. Kodambaka, "Watching nanowires grow" UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, October 2007.
  13. S. Kodambaka, "In situ microscopy: A tool for quantitative analyses of nanowire growth dynamics," Molecular Foundry User Meeting, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, October 2007.
  14. S. Kodambaka, "In situ studies of nanowire nucleation and growth kinetics," Workshop on Nanoscale Epitaxial Semiconductor Structures, Albuquerque, NM, September 2007.
  15. (Plenary lecture) S. Kodambaka, J. Tersoff, J.B. Hannon, M.C. Reuter, K.B. Reuter, R.M. Tromp, and F.M. Ross, "Semiconductor nanowire nucleation and growth kinetics," 9th Conf. Yugoslav Materials Research Society, Herceg Novi, Montenegro, September 2007.
  16. S. Kodambaka, J. Tersoff, M.C. Reuter, K.B. Reuter, and F.M. Ross, "Simultaneous Ge nanowire growth using solid and liquid Au catalysts," MSA Conference, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, August 2007.
  17. S. Kodambaka, J. Tersoff, J.B. Hannon, M.C. Reuter, R.M. Tromp, and F.M. Ross, "Growth kinetics of Si and Ge nanowires," 9th U.S. National Congress on Computational Mechanics, San Francisco, CA, July 2007.
  18. S. Kodambaka, J. Tersoff, M.C. Reuter, J.B. Hannon, R.M. Tromp, and F.M. Ross, "Kinetic measurements during the vapor-liquid-solid growth of Si and Ge nanowires," APS March meeting, Denver, CO, March 2007.
  19. S. Kodambaka, J. Tersoff, J.B. Hannon, M.C. Reuter, R.M. Tromp, and F.M. Ross, "In situ electron microscopy studies of Si and Ge nanowire growth" Northrop Grumman Corporation, Los Angeles, CA, February 2007.

 

Contributed talks

  1. S. Kodambaka, J. Tersoff, C.-Y. Wen, E.A. Stach, and F.M. Ross, "Role of Al in Au-catalyzed growth of Si nanowires," The Metals Society conference, San Francisco CA, February 2009.
  2. M. Pozuelo, X.F. Zhang, J.-H. Park, R. Koc, and S. Kodambaka, "In situ transmission electron microscopy studies of chemical and thermal stabilities of carbon-coated titania nanoparticles," AVS Int'l meeting, Boston, MA, October 2008.
  3. S.-Y. Kwon, V. Petrova, V. Gambin, I. Petrov, and S. Kodambaka, "In Situ Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Studies of Graphitic Layer Growth on Pd(111)," TMS Electronic Materials Conference, Santa Barbara, CA, June 2008.
  4. S. Kodambaka, J. Tersoff, K.B. Reuter, and F.M. Ross, "Vapor-liquid-solid growth of Ge nanowires at temperatures below the eutectic temperature," MRS Spring Meeting, San Francisco, CA, April 2007.

 

Other presentations

  • M. Pozuelo, J.-H. Park, X. Zhang, R. Koc, and S. Kodambaka, "In situ transmission electron microscopy studies of the kinetics of carbothermal synthesis of titanium carbide," MRS Fall meeting, Boston, MA, December 2008.
  • R.L. Woo, L. Gao, S. Kodambaka, K.L. Wang, N. Goel, M.K. Hudait, and R.F. Hicks, "Kinetic Control of Self-catalyzed Indium Phosphide Nano - Wires, Cones, and Pillars," AIChE meeting, Philadelphia, PA, November 2008.
  • R.L. Woo, L. Gao, S. Kodambaka, K.L. Wang, N. Goel, M.K. Hudait, and R.F. Hicks, "Kinetic Control of Self-catalyzed Indium Phosphide Nano - Wires, Cones, and Pillars," AVS Int'l meeting, Boston, MA, October 2008.
  • M. Pozuelo, S.V. Prikhodko, R. Woo, L. Gao, S.D. Sitzman, R.F. Hicks, and S. Kodambaka, "Growth and Characterization of InP Nanowires on Si(111)," Microscopy & Microanalysis, Albuquerque, NM, August 2008.
  • (Late-breaking poster) X.F. Zhang, M. Pozuelo, J.-H. Park, R. Koc, and S. Kodambaka, "In situ transmission electron microscopy studies of chemical and thermal stabilities of carbon-coated titania nanoparticles," Microscopy & Microanalysis, Albuquerque, NM, August 2008.
  • P. Marienhoff, M. Klein, and S. Kodambaka, "Design and Development of an Ultra-high Vacuum Variable-Pressure Scanning Electron Microscope for Dynamical Studies of Nanostructures," Microscopy & Microanalysis, Albuquerque, NM, August 2008.
  • S.D. Sitzman, S.V. Prikhodko, V. Gambin, and S. Kodambaka, "In situ EBSD analysis of GaAs nanowires," Microbeam Analytical Society, Madison, WI, May 2008.
  • J.-H. Park, S. Prikhodko, A. Lawrenz, V. Gambin, and S. Kodambaka, "Effect of Au Coverage on GaAs Nanowire Growth on GaAs(111) substrates," MRS Spring Meeting, San Francisco, CA, March 2008.
  • S.-Y. Kwon, V.L. Petrova, H.-C. Seo, I. Petrov, and S. Kodambaka, "Growth and Characterization of GexSb1-x (0.2<x<1) Thin Films Sputter-Deposited on Si(001) and Si(111)," MRS Spring Meeting, San Francisco, CA, March 2008.
  • S.D. Sitzman, S.V. Prikhodko, V. Gambin, and S. Kodambaka, "In situ crystallographic phase and orientation analysis of GaAs nanowires by SEM/EBSD," MRS Spring Meeting, San Francisco, CA, March 2008.
  • K.A. Dick, S. Kodambaka, M.C. Reuter, K. Deppert, L. Samuelson, W. Seifert, L.R. Wallenberg, and F.M. Ross, "Understanding the morphology of compositionally modulated heterostructure nanowires," MRS Spring Meeting, San Francisco, CA, March 2008.
  • Eric Stach, Bong Joong Kim, Jerry Tersoff, Sueng Min Kim, Suneel Kodambaka, Dmitri Zakharov, Benji Maruyama, and Frances Ross, "Quantifying Nucleation Processes During the Growth of Semiconducting Nanowires and Carbon Nanotubes," MRS Fall Meeting, Boston, MA, November 2007.
  • (Plenary Lecture) Eric Stach, Bong Joong Kim, Jerry Tersoff, Sueng Min Kim, Suneel Kodambaka, Dmitri Zakharov, Benji Maruyama, and Frances Ross, "Quantifying Nucleation Processes During the Growth of Semiconducting Nanowires and Carbon Nanotubes," YUCOMAT, Herceg Novi, Montenegro, September 2007.
  • K.A. Dick, S. Kodambaka, M.C. Reuter, K. Deppert, L. Samuelson, W. Seifert, L.R. Wallenberg, and F.M. Ross, "Morphology of Axial Heterostructure Nanowires and Branched Heterostructure Nanotrees," Materials Today Asia, Beijing, China, September 2007.
  • (Late-breaking poster) S.V. Prikhodko, S. Sitzman, V. Gambin, S. Kodambaka, "EBSD Analyses of Individual GaAs Nanowires in the SEM," Microscopy & Microanalysis, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, August 2007.
  • B.-J. Kim, S. Kodambaka, M.C. Reuter, K.B. Reuter, E.A. Stach, and F.M. Ross, "Quantitative determination of the nucleation kinetics of Si nanowires grown on Si3N4 substrates by the VLS mechanism," MRS Spring Meeting, San Francisco, CA, April 2007.

 

Awards

  • Ross J. Martin award, outstanding doctoral thesis, College of Engineering, UIUC (2003).
  • Best poster presentation award: AVS Prairie Chapter, Chicago, IL (2002).
  • Graduate student award finalist, E-MRS spring meeting, Strasbourg, France (2001).
  • Gold medal, outstanding graduate research, MRS spring meeting, San Francisco, CA (2001).
  • Mavis Memorial Fund Scholarship, College of Engineering, UIUC (2001).
  • Ivan Racheff award, outstanding graduate research, Dept. Materials Science, UIUC (2000).
  • Best poster presentation award: NSF-DARPA Virtual Integrated Prototyping project review, Champaign, IL (1998).

 

Professional Activities

  • Co-organizer, focused topic, APS March meeting (2009).
  • Organizer, Symposium, MRS Fall meeting, Boston, MA (2008).
  • Co-organizer, in situ microscopy topical conference, AVS Int’l meeting (2008).
  • Session Chair, Microscopy & Microanalysis, Albuquerque (2008).
  • Co-organizer, topical session in Int'l Conf. Metallurgical Coatings and Thin Films, San Diego, CA (2004-'05, 2008-'09).
  • Organizer, in situ microscopy topical conference in AVS Int’l meeting, Seattle, WA (2007).
  • Chair, session in MRS Fall meeting, Boston, MA (2006).
  • Organizer, American Vacuum Society Prairie Chapter meeting, Urbana, IL (2004).
  • Session Chair, Midwest Solid State Conference, Urbana, IL (2002).
  • Referee for APL, EPL, IEEE transactions on nanotechnology, J. Appl. Phys., J. Crystal Growth, J. Elec. Mater, JVST-A, JVST-B, Microsc. Microanal, Nano Lett., Nat. Mater., PRB, PRE, PRL, Science, Surf. Eng., Surf. Sci., Thin Solid Films, and Vacuum.
  • Reviewer – CINT (Sandia), Molecular Foundry (LBNL), A-STAR (Singapore)
  • Member of the American Vacuum Society (1999, 2002-'04, 2007-present); Materials Research Society (2001, '02, '04, 2006-present); American Ceramic Society (1996); American Physics Society (2007).

 

Courses Taught

MAT SCI 111  Introduction to Materials Characterization B (Electron Microscopy)
MAT SCI 131L  Diffusion and Diffusion-Controlled Reactions Laboratory
ENGR M101/
MAT SCI M105		  Principles of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

 

Links

Research Group/Lab: In situ Microscopy Labs

 

Office Location

  • 3121-J Engineering V

 

Mailing Address

  • UCLA, HSSEAS School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
    Department of Materials Science and Engineering
    410 Westwood Plaza
    3111 Engineering V
    Los Angeles, CA 90095-1595
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