Masters Defense: Dags Olsteins

Fabrication and electrical transport characterization of nanomaterials.

This work aims to expand the material "toolbox" for quantum transport experiments. To controllably conduct transport experiments, high quality nanowires are necessary which can be realized by good control over the catalyst droplets. Thus the substrate preparation for VLS grown nanowires is optimized to achieve better control over the nanowire dimensions and positions enabling more sophisticated nanowire arrangements. This is utilized in the growths of InAs/Pb hybrid nanowires - a new epitaxially matched semiconductor-superconductor hybrid. Finally, a recipe is developed for fabricating devices on the InAs/Pb hybrid nanowires which show promising quantum transport properties.