University of South Florida
College of Arts and Sciences
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Sarath Witanachchi
Office: ISA 5111 Phone: 813/974-2789 Lab: ISA 5058/5060 Fax: 813/974-5813 Email: switanach (at) usf.edu
Ph.D. electrical engineering, 1989, State University of New York at Buffalo
Research Interests:
Laboratory for Advanced Materials Science and Technology explores innovations in pulsed laser ablation, plasma processes and laser –assisted spray processes for the growth of thin films and nanostructures of technologically significant materials including super hard materials, thermoelectric materials, magnetic and multiferroic materials, superconductors, and quantum dots of semiconductors for solar cells. NSF, DOE, and DOD sponsored research projects have focused on the application of a dual-laser ablation process discovered in this laboratory to grow large-area, particulate-free films of thermoelectric material, fabrication of diamond and diamond-like carbon structures for MEMS applications, growth of vertically aligned nano-grained films of super-hard materials by a hybrid process where chemical self-assembly and physical vapor deposition techniques are combined, and to fabricate Cu(InGa)Se2 and ZnO thin films for solar cell applications. Currently, we are also investigating the inclusion of PbSxSe1-x nanoparticles in organic and inorganic solar cell structures for multiple exciton generation and microwave plasma techniques to fabricate nanoparticles and nanoparticle coatings of oxides for thermoelectric and solid state lighting applications. Optical spectroscopic techniques such as time-of-flight and time-gated CCD imaging are being used to study species resolved plasma plume dynamics. The research encompasses thin film growth, nano-structures, nanoparticle films, dynamic optical process diagnostics, thin film and nanostructure analysis, characterization and process modeling leading to the fabrication of single-layer and hetero-structure devices.
Dual-laser ablation and formation of nanocrystalline structures Research at the Laboratory for Advanced Materials Science and Technology (LAMSAT) combines laser ablation and chemical self-assembly to achieve selective growth of nanostructures.