Contact Info

office: Fulmer N116

phone: (509) 335-5822 / 5-1585
email: umazur@wsu.edu

Group Website

Education

Research

Professor Ursula Mazur joined the physical chemistry faculty at WSU in 1982, after her tenure as a postdoctoral associate in the department. She completed her graduate studies at the University of Michigan and holds an undergraduate degree from Wayne State University. Prior to her graduate work, she spent two years as a research associate at the Detroit Institute of Cancer Research.

A good understanding of the structure and the properties of thin film materials has a clear application in technology including such areas as optoelectronics, electrochemistry, liquid and gas chromatography, enzyme immobilization, chemical synthesis, adhesion, lubrication, and corrosion. Further, there is a continuing need to develop expertise in the generation of stable materials with predictable chemical and physical properties.

Our research efforts focus primarily on the development of novel thin film materials (insulators and semiconductors) with varying chemical reactivity and electrical, optical, and mechanical properties. As a part of this work we correlate the microscopic characteristics (molecular structure and microstructure) of the thin films with their macroscopic properties. The motivation for these studies is to improve the understanding of how microscopic details control the chemical, electrical, and mechanical properties of thin films.

Our films are prepared by different vacuum deposition techniques and via chemical modification. Since these films are typically a few molecules thick, highly sensitive analytical techniques are needed to provide meaningful information about their microscopic properties. We integrate vibrational spectroscopic methods and morphological techniques to characterize our thin films. We employ the highly sensitive electron spectroscopy, inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS), as well as optical techniques such as FT-IR and Raman to obtain vibrational information about molecular layers. The morphological methods used include scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electron microprobe is used to measure the stoichiometry of the films.

The films' structure is correlated with thermal and chemical stability, optical (refractive index and transmittance), electrical (conductivity), and mechanical properties such as hardness and adhesion.

Students working in our laboratory will gain skills in thin-film deposition technology, cryogenics, electronics, and high and ultra-high vacuum techniques. They will also gain experience in spectroscopy and in surface morphological methods.

Selected Publications