Chair, Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics (APAM)
Director, Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC)
(The Center for Nanostructured Materials)
Member, Columbia Nanocenter
Member, Columbia Center for Integrated Science and Engineering
Professor (Optical and Solid State Physics)
S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1972
Ph.D., 1977
Biography:
IRVING HERMAN graduated with S.B. and Ph.D. degrees in physics from M.I.T. in 1972 and 1977. From 1977-1986 he was a member and section leader in O-group within the Physics Department at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he was engaged in research in laser isotope separation of deuterium and tritium, and the use of direct laser writing in thin film processing. In 1986, he joined the faculty of Columbia University, where he is now Professor of Applied Physics, Director of the Columbia Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), Chair of the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, and a member of the Columbia Center for Integrated Science and Engineering (CISE), and the Center for Electron Transport in Molecular Nanostructures (NSEC). He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the Optical Society of America.
Research Interests:
His research concentrates on the fundamental aspects and applications of laser interactions with matter and nanoscience. This includes properties of nanocrystals and films composed of nanocrystals, optical physics of the solid state, molecular and chemical physics, thin film processing, and optical spectroscopy.
One active area of research in his group is the study of the optical properties of semiconductor and metal oxide nanocrystals and films composed of them. This includes Raman analysis of these nanocrystals and understanding how films and device structures of these particles and of nanowires can be made, including by using electric fields for directed assembly.
Another active area of research in his group is the use of optical spectroscopies to probe the physical and chemical events that occur in the thin film processing of microelectronic materials. These techniques are also called real-time optical diagnostics. He has used laser desorption and laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopies to probe the adlayers at the surface during novel types of plasma etching. These optical diagnostic studies also address the use of optical microprobe methods with tightly focused lasers to analyze patterned processes with high spatial resolution.
He is also interested in optical spectroscopy of semiconductors, and in particular in the effects of strain, confinement and temperature on these materials. He has studied phonons in materials like germanium-silicon alloys by Raman microprobe spectroscopy. He has also studied the optical spectroscopy of materials subjected to high pressure in diamond anvil cells, including thin films, multiple-quantum wells, and nanocrystals of novel light-emitting IV, III-V, and II-VI semiconductors by using photoluminescence and other optical methods. The goal of these studies was to understand the properties of electronic and optoelectronic materials better, in order to make more efficient use of them in applications and design of even better structures.
His research has also been in related areas of optical physics, including studies of optically pumped lasers, laser isotope separation, infrared laser multiple-photon dissociation, laser chemical modifications of surfaces, and optical microanalysis of semiconductors.
He has also developed a first year/second year undergraduate course on "Physics of the Human Body", has published the textbook "Physics of the Human Body" (Springer, Berlin-Heidelberg-New York, 2007) for this course, and has published the monograph "Optical Diagnostics for Thin Film Processing" (Academic Press, San Diego, 1996). He has published review articles on optical diagnostics, Raman scattering, optical thermometry, laser-assisted deposition, laser separation of tritium, direct laser writing, and laser isotope separation.
He also leads an extensive education outreach program in the MRSEC.
Click to learn about Herman's Research and the American Presidency