Beam me up Scotty: Growing crystals and spectroscopic ellipsometry

Dr. Hisham Abad, a Professor of Physics in the College of Science and General Studies at Alfaisal University, gave a stirring presentation on growing crystals and spectroscopic ellipsometry to faculty staff and students on Wednesday 3 June 2009 at Alfaisal University. The talk included a brief discussion of the growth of thin films by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), and the importance of this technology in the field of advanced optical electronic devices. Spectroscopic ellipsometry is extremely significant in the characterization of thin films and interfaces. One of the attendees at the colloquium, Dr. Bernhard Juurlink, a Professor in the College of Medicine, when asked about the significance of this type technology, said that, “Surfaces and interfaces are important in generating energy, whether in chloroplasts, mitochondria or photovoltaic cells. They help to determine whether or not blood clots following heart valve replacement, whether hip implants become firmly anchored to bone, or whether pipes corrode or not. Dr. Hisham gave a very informative seminar on how to grow crystalline surfaces, and how ellipsometry, which uses polarized light, can give information on the nature of these surfaces.”