Physics

 

Universities Involved

Trinity College Dublin
Queen's University Belfast

Department(s)

Physics

Project Title / Description

For the last three years Dr Charles Patterson collaborated with Prof. Ruth Lynden­Bell in the atomistic simulation group in QUB and they co supervised two students (M in Het Panhuis here) and this has produced three papers from Marc's work.

They also initiated an all­island two day symposium on condensed matter which meets in mid­december each year. 1996, TCD, 1997 QUB, 1998 UCC, 1999 DCU. Between 30 and 40 people have attended each meeting and the 1998 meeting was sponsored by the US Airforce.

Contacts

Physics@tcd.ie

 

 


Universities Involved

Trinity College Dublin
Queen's University Belfast

Department(s)

Physics

Project Title / Description

Dynamics of superparamagnetic nanoparticles

Collaboration on the dynamics of super­ paramagnetic nanoparticles with particular emphasis on their use as information storage devices has been carried on with the Queen's University of Belfast since 1992. This has resulted in the complete solution of the dynamics of the magnetisation of these particles in the presence of non axially symmetric potentials of the magneto­crystalline anisotropy potential and has resulted in at least 20
papers in well­refereed international journals such as Physical Review Letters, The Physical Review and The Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials.

As a result of these researches the thermal reversal of the magnetisation is now very well understood. It is now proposed to commence a study of reversal of the magnetisation due to quantum tunnelling. This is in consequence an open ended project and it is envisaged that it will continue for several years. The project has been funded by an Enterprise Ireland grant (£27K 1997­2000) by EPSRC (£90K 1997­2000) and by various small grants from Enterprise Ireland/British Council.

In order that the project can continue, we would like to have resources of about £30K
per annum.

The project is open to new collaborators, e.g. The University of Perpignan, IREE Moscow.

Contacts

Prof. WT Coffey
Tel +353 1 608 1580/677 2442
secr@ee.tcd.ie

Prof. DSF Crothers
Tel 04890 335048/239182

Prof. EC Kennedy
Tel 04890 335048/239182

Development Potential

It is hoped to involve of Prof. RW Chantrell, Dept of Electronic Engineering of the University College of North Wales, Bangor, who has taken a keen interest in the work to date.


Universities Involved

University College Dublin
Dublin City University
Queen's University Belfast

Department(s)

Experimental Physics

Project Title / Description

Investigation of the structure and dynamics of atoms and ions by inner ­ shell excitations.

The collaboration was part of a wider EU funded TMR programme led by Prof. E Kennedy of DCU. One of the perhapchny labs produced spectra (Uno & Pedora) which needed to be exposed with R matrix theory developed at QUB. A research student from UCD, Grud McGuiness, spent two/three months in Belfast working closely with Prof. A Hibbert and K Bell of the applied maths department performing calculations. The work was successful and led to a publication.

The project was funded by the EU TMR programme. The funding covered period from 1993­1996 and the above project was performed in 1996.

Contacts

Prof. E Kennedy
Tel + 353 1 7045305
kennedye@dcu.ie

Prof. Alan Hibbert
Tel 04890 245133 Ext 3171 /239182
c.hibbert@qub.uk

 


Universities Involved

University College Cork
Dublin City University
University College Dublin
Queen University Belfast

Department(s)

Physics

Other Universities

A number of European universities including Royal Holloway Bedford College, Imperial College, Southampton University.

Project Title / Description

Investigation of the structure and dynamics of atoms and ions by inner ­ shell excitations.

This project started in 1992 as a Human Capital and Mobility programme networks of the EU.

The project included experimentalists and theorists and the development of new theoretical approaches for the description of many electron interactions in atoms.

The EU support finished in 1995 but collaboration with individual network partners continues on a less formal basis.

Contacts

Dr Michael Mansfield
Tel + 353 21 902535/276949
m.Mansfield@ucc.ie

 

 


Universities Involved

National University of Ireland, Maynooth
Queen's University Belfast

Department(s)

Mathematical Physics

Project Title / Description

Formation, Evolution and Phase Transition of Fractal Structure in Two Dimensional Colloidal Aggregates.
Funding from Enterprise Ireland and EPSRC (UK).


Universities Involved

National University of Ireland, Maynooth
Queen University Belfast

Department(s)

Experimental Physics

Project Title / Description

Electron­Ion Collision Studies at QUB

The objective was an experimental investigation of electron ion scattering.

The activities to date have included research visits, student projects; two papers published jointly.

Contacts

Dr ID Williams
Tel 04890 273699
i.Williams@qub.ac.uk

Dr RW O'Neill
Tel + 353 1 708 3779
ray.oneill@may.ie

 

Development Potential

It is anticipated that collaboration will continue.


Universities Involved

Dublin City University
Queen's University Belfast

Department(s)

School of Physical Sciences

Project Title / Description

Applications in X­Ray Spectroscopy and Plasma Diagnostics.

Collaborative project on the generation and diagnosis of laser produced plasmas.
The work Included:

  • Fundamental Studies of the expanding laser plume material.
  • The development of laser plasmas as soft x­ray light sources.
  • The development of x­ray absorption imaging as a plasma diagnostic technique.

The fundamental interest lies in the elucidation of the fundamental physics of the constituent plasma particles (atoms, ions, molecules etc.) and their interactions. The same techniques are also being applied to plasmas used e.g. for thin film deposition.

The outcome to date:

  • Three EU­TMR (large scale facilities Access) funded experiments at Rutherford (Central Laser Facility) Lab. In the UK.
  • Six conference presentations (two more to take place in summer 2000).
  • One Invited talk.
  • Two RAL­CLF facility reports (one is in preparation for 2000).
  • Two EU reports (one further in preparation for 2000).
  • Three refereed publications.
  • Two further publications in preparation for submission in 2000.

Contacts

Dr John Costello
Tel + 353 1 700 5304
john.costello@dcu.ie

Prof. Ciaran Lewis
Tel 04890 273121
c.lewis@qub.ac.uk

 

Development Potential

At the new DCU National Centre for Plasma Science and Technology a stand alone experiment is currently being designed/built with the aid of HEA­TLRS monies to exploit the deep­UV diagnostics system at the QUB laboratory. The collaboration would undoubtedly benefit from the input of young post­doctoral researchers who could work flexibly in both the DCU and QUB laboratories leading to a further strengthening and linking of the relevant and complementary expertise at DCU and QUB.


Universities Involved

Dublin City University
Queen's University Belfast

Department(s)

School of Physical Sciences

Project Title / Description

Web/CD based Certified courses in Vacuum and Plasma processing technology.

The aim is to provide specialist study of the principals, techniques and applications of vacuum and plasma technology. The courses are offered and validated jointly by the Department of Pure and Applied Physics at the Queen's University of Belfast and the School of Physical Sciences of Dublin City University. The courses and assessments will be entirely Web and CD based. Initially targeted at the U.K. and Ireland, the intention is to establish the course on the international market.

The course modules are offered as individual, stand alone certified courses; in the future it is planned that they may be combined as modules for a diploma or, with a research project, for a Master of Science qualification.

There will be a generous timescale for completion, in keeping with the part time nature of the course.

Contacts

Dr David Vender
Tel + 353 1 704 5835

 

 

Development Potential

Plasma and Vacuum science and Technology is widespread in manufacturing industry, and there should be a large market for these courses. Following the establishment of the courses in Ireland and the UK, they will then be promoted in the rest of Europe and the US. They should also serve as a catalyst for the development of a broad collaboration between the physics disciplines in DCU and QUB.


Universities Involved

Queen's University Belfast
Trinity College Dublin

Department(s)

Physics

Other Universities

A number of European Universities

Project Title / Description

Electromagnetic Interactions in Tunnelling (EMIT)

Inspired by its ability to image directly molecular and atomic Structures of a variety of materials the scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) has become very important tool for material science and surface analysis. Since its construction in 1981 it has been used for many purposes besides imaging.

In 1981 light emissions from the tunnelling junction of a STM experiment was reported. During the tunnelling process, the tunnelling electrons generate surface plasmons which travel along the surface. The travel of these tunnelling induced plasmons is interrupted by changes in the surface topography resulting in the emission of light from the tunnelling junction.

Photon emissions in tunnelling provides overall inelastic signal which is not corrupted by the noise of the tunnelling of the tunnelling signal. Furthermore the tip of a STM, with its atomic dimensions, provides an excellent tool for localised generation of photon emissions on a surface. If the emitted light is collected and analysed, it could provide spectroscopic information about the sample examined by the STM. Unfortunately the emitted light is not very intense and therefore quite difficult to detect.

Nevertheless the combination of the atomic resolution and low level light detection methods, offers new possibilities for material and surface science. Spectoscopic information like spectral distribution, polarised angle, intensity as well as chemical information carried by the emitted photons could provide very important additional knowledge about the scanned sample.

The Objective of the network program is to combine the extremely high spatial resolution (up to atomic level) of STM with the excellent sensitivity and spectral resolution of optical detection. An array of dedicated STM instruments will be developed across the Network and used in basic studies of radiation emission in STM, extending as far as the microwave regime, and to probe individual entities using photon emissions (and absorption).

These entities will include, primarily, molecules absorbed on metal surfaces, nano­wires, quantum dot structures and magnetic nano­ structures. The complicated data yielded will be characteristic of fundamental quantum transitions and will be used to critically examine existing theoretical models and to improve the understanding of quantum physics phenomena.

The partnership comprises of seven teams from seven different countries, all with a strong background in scanning probe techniques; several of the teams are world leaders in their areas. There will be an exchange of ideas and collaboration across the Network in tandem to instrumentation development in order to achieve the preliminary goal of building a range of STM instrument.

Various specifically planned interactions across the Network will ensure advancement in areas of the fundamental study of electro­magnetic emissions, the imaging of molecules and magnetic nano­structures as well as metallic and semiconductor nano­structures. The theoretical analysis and backup will be
provided by the team at Chalmers University of Technology.

Contacts

Prof. DG Walmsley, QUB
Tel 04890 335117
Fax 04890 236226
dg.walmsley@qub.ac.uk

Dr P Dawson, QUB
Dr Igor Chvets, TCD
igor.chvets@tcd.ie

 

Business Involvement

IBM, Zurich
AGFA, Netherlands

Development Potential

This is a European Network. Collaboration opportunities may arise for follow up work in 2002.


Universities Involved

Dublin City University

Queen’s University Belfast

Department(s)

Plasma Research Laboratory

Department of Pure and Applied Physics

Project Title / Description

Irish Plasma Beam Processing Group (IPBPG).

 

There has been an ongoing collaboration between the Queen’s University of Belfast and Plasma Research Laboratory at Dublin City University since 1989.

 

In 1991 the two groups jointly set up the Irish Plasma Beam Processing Group. This group has now turned into a conference and has met annually since 1991 apart from in 1998 when QUB and DCU jointly organised the XIVth ESCAMPIG conference which was attended by over 250 scientists. The conference participants come for the all interested institutes within Ireland including University College Cork, Trinity College Dublin, University of Ulster, Enterprise Ireland, Seagate Technology, LAM Research, Intel Ireland, Scientific Systems and Plasma Ireland.

 

The aims of the conference were:-

 

·                     to provide a platform for research students to present their work.

·                     a forum for researchers in this field to discuss their current activities.

·                     to strengthen the link between industry and academia in this area.

 

The conference is organised annually and usually rotates between QUB and DCU, the conference has been held in other locations on occasion. It is hoped that in the future that the conference will rotate between all members who now regularly participate in the conference.

The resource required are those which are normal for any conference i.e. rooms, proceedings etc. These conferences are currently self-funding.

Contacts

Samantha Fahy

Plasma Research Laboratory, DCU

Tel + 353 1 700 5866

Fax + 353 1 700 5951

Samantha.Fahy@dcu.ie

Bill Graham

Department Pure and Applied Physics, QUB

Tel 04890 273564

Fax 04890 438918

b.graham@qub.ac.u

 

 

Bert Ellingboe

Plasma Research Laboratory, DCU

Tel + 353 1 700 5314

Fax + 353 1 700 5951

Albert.Ellingboe@dcu.ie

David Vender

Plasma Research Laboratory, DCU

Tel + 353 1 700 5835

Fax + 353 1 700 5951

David.Vender@dcu.ie

 

 

Miles Turner

Plasma Research Laboratory, DCU

Tel + 353 1 700 5298

Fax + 353 1 700 5951

Miles.Turner@dcu.ie

 

 

 

Business Involvement

In 1999 an Industrial section was added to the conference and relevant industries such as Seagate Technology, LAM Research and Scientific Systems have participated in the conference since then.

Development Potential

It is anticipated that this conference will continue to run for the foreseeable future.


Universities Involved

Dublin City University

Queen’s University Belfast

Department(s)

Plasma Research Laboratory

Department of Pure and Applied Physics

Project Title / Description

Graduate Diploma/Masters in Plasma and Vacuum Technology

 

There has been an ongoing collaboration between the Queen’s University of Belfast and Plasma Research Laboratory at Dublin City University since 1989. This project was started in September 1999 and is intended to continue for years to come! The project is open to new collaborators who are willing to bring resources and expertise to the project. The Main objective of the project is to jointly develop and run a Graduate Diploma/Masters in Plasma and Vacuum Technology. This programme is industrially focused and will be entirely web based.

 

The proposal is currently going through the validation and accreditation stages at both DCU and QUB and the start date is now anticipated to be October 2001.

 

The majority of resources which have been put into this project to date have been man-hours in the development of the documentation and course material. Other resources include a web server and software for the delivery on web based courses.

The Queen’s University of Belfast have received approximately £130,000 for a grant source for the development of their portion of this project. To date DCU have not received any support, however application has been made for funding from the DCU ‘Strategic Support’ fund.

Contacts

David Vender

Plasma Research Laboratory, DCU

Tel + 353 1 700 5835

Fax + 353 1 700 5951

David.Vender@dcu.ie

Bill Graham

Department Pure and Applied Physics, QUB

Tel 04890 273564

Fax 04890 438918

b.graham@qub.ac.uk

 

 

Miles Turner

Plasma Research Laboratory, DCU

Tel + 353 1 700 5298

Fax + 353 1 700 5951

Miles.Turner@dcu.ie

Samantha Fahy

Plasma Research Laboratory, DCU

Tel + 353 1 700 5866

Fax + 353 1 700 5951

Samantha.Fahy@dcu.ie

 

Business Involvement

This project involves the development of an academic programme that is focused at industry (but not exclusively) and therefore requires industrial input into its development. A focused market survey indicated that there was indeed a considerable demand for this programme. Leading members of relevant industries are currently being asked to participate on the programme board of this programme. Names have not yet been confirmed but should you like further information contact Samantha Fahy.


Universities Involved

Dublin City University

Queen’s University Belfast

Department(s)

Plasma Research Laboratory

Department of Pure and Applied Physics

Project Title / Description

Structure and Stability of Multi-component Plasmas

 

There has been an ongoing collaboration between the Queen’s University of Belfast and Plasma Research Laboratory at Dublin City University since 1989. This current project was initiated in September 2000. The aim of this project is to investigate negative ions in hydrogen plasmas. At present the main focus is on negative ion production through electron attachment to neutrals from the hydrogen plasma. Comparison of the electron attachment curves for plasma on and plasma off, give reliable information on processes which take place in the plasma. It is hoped that the results of this experimental project will be compared with an ongoing computation project running in DCU which is developing a Global Model of the plasma. Prof. Graham from QUB was seconded on a part time basis to DCU over a period of two months during which time he worked closely with DCU staff on this project in the Plasma Research Laboratory.

 

The members of this collaboration are always willing to open any ongoing project to new collaborations and have in the past participated in a number of multiple collaborative projects. The most notable being a European funded Human Capital and Mobility Network where DCU were the coordinators with partners in QUB, France, Netherlands, Italy and Romania.

 

The resources which were required from this project were available within the plasma research laboratory and included a capacitively rf discharge systems that has a Hiden Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (EQP) installed at the ground electrode.

There was no specific funding support for this project.

Contacts

Bert Ellingboe

Plasma Research Laboratory, DCU

Tel + 353 1 700 5314

Fax + 353 1 700 5951

Albert.Ellingboe@dcu.ie

Miles Turner

Plasma Research Laboratory, DCU

Tel + 353 1 700 5298

Fax + 353 1 700 5951

Miles.Turner@dcu.ie

 

 

David Vender

Plasma Research Laboratory, DCU

Tel + 353 1 700 5835

Fax + 353 1 700 5951

David.Vender@dcu.ie

Bill Graham

Department Pure and Applied Physics, QUB

Tel 04890 273564

Fax 04890 438918

b.graham@qub.ac.uk

 

Development Potential

As mentioned above, the collaboration between QUB and DCU has been ongoing since 1989 and it is anticipated that all efforts will be taken to ensure that this continues in the future.

The number of joint projects which could be undertaken is numerous, the restricting factor is the level of funding available for these projects. The Plasma Research Laboratory has availed of funding in the past for collaboration with QUB but only on a very small scale.


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