Quantum & Semiconductor Materials Synthesis and Characterization

Christopher Hinkle is the Bettex Collegiate Chair and Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. He received his Ph.D. degree in 2005 in physics from North Carolina State University. Prior to joining Notre Dame, Chris was an Associate Professor and remains an Adjunct Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Our group's multidisciplinary research focuses on the growth, characterization, and device physics of quantum and semiconductor materials for novel devices and applications. Our approach utilizes advanced molecular beam epitaxy techniques, selective area atomic layer deposition, and highly developed materials characterization to fundamentally understand the nucleation and growth process, material nanostructure, chemical bonding, and experimentally determined band structure.  We then correlate those findings with advanced electrical transport and magnetic measurements from devices that we fabricate to take full advantage of the novel properties of the materials and heterostructures that we create. Our current research interests include semiconductor defects for quantum communication, topologically protected transport in semiconductors and metals, magnetic properties in 2D materials, and back-end-of-line materials and device integration.