Dr. David Joy:
ORNL Division of Metals and Ceramics;
UT Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology;
UT Department of Materials Science and Engineering
From the tiny control chips embedded in your car to the speediest computer processors, a single six-inch silicon wafer can hold several hundred to several thousand fabricated devices. Exact spacing is essential.
David Joy, physicist and materials scientist, combines the techniques of electron microscopy and electron holography to study and measure miniscule semiconductor transistor devices. His work improves semiconductor fabrication and increases scientific understanding of how electrons interact with solid materials to produce electron images
Trained in the science of measurement (metrology) and electron optics, Joy has pioneered many analytical microscopy techniques, including methods for electron, optical and scanning tip imaging processes.
He also puts science to the test creating electron-scale images of biological and polymer materials. Under traditional high-energy electron imaging techniques, biological and polymer samples either collapse in the vacuum chamber or burn in the intense electron beam. Joy's group, however, developed an ultra-low energy imaging technique of 30eV (electron volts) or less, then attached a cooling chip to the sample platform to freeze and stabilize the sample prior to entry in the vacuum chamber. Joy is currently exploring how to bring the well-known precision of optical light-waves to the electron-wave realm, for three-dimensional holographic visualization of complex biological structures.
Joy has been honored frequently by the Semiconductor Research Corporation, most recently with an Inventor Recognition Award for work leading to a U.S. Patent (pending) on the "Use of Reflected Interferograms for Lithography." He is a member of the DOE, ORNL Center for Nanomaterials Sciencs (CNMS) management group; lead scientist for the CNMS Nanomanipulation and Imaging (NIM) facility; and co-head of the UT Joint Institute for Nano-Imaging and Fabrication laboratory, which houses a new "nanowriter" system.
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