Robert Wallace

Professor, Erik Jonsson Distinguished Chair

rmwallace@utdallas.edu
Phone: 972-883-6638
Office: RL 4.414

800 West Campbell Rd.
Mailstop: RL10
Richardson, TX 75080-3021

Curriculum Vitae
Research Website

Education

PhD, Physics, University of Pittsburgh, 1988
MS, Physics, University of Pittsburgh, 1984
BS, Physics and Applied Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh, 1982

Awards

• IBM Faculty Award
• Erik Jonsson School Distinguished Senior Research Contributions Award

Overview

Research in the Wallace Group focuses on the study of surfaces and interfaces, particularly with applications to electronic materials and the resultant devices fabricated from them. Driven by integrated circuit scaling and industrial experience, our work has led to participation on several nationally renowned academic centers sponsored by the Semiconductor Research Corporation. The group’s tasks focus on the interfacial physics and chemistry of metals and dielectrics in contact with semiconductor and semimetal surfaces as well as the resultant device behavior correlations. This work has also enabled an international NSF-sponsored program with colleagues in Ireland and Northern Ireland. As such, the majority of our work is interdisciplinary, with attention to the fundamental science, as well as potential applications and any associated constraints.

Our current interests include materials systems which explore materials systems leading to concepts that may enable further scaling of integrated circuit technology and beyond CMOS-based logic. We have current research programs engaged in the study of the surfaces and interfaces of compound semiconductor systems including arsenides (e.g. InGaAs), nitrides (e.g. GaN), phosphides (e.g. InP), as well as antimondies (e.g. GaSb). This research thrust extends our previous work on high-k dielectrics on more conventional Si-based materials, where an emphasis is made on the correlation of physicochemical properties and electronic performance. In addition to laboratory studies of these compound semiconductor interfaces and surfaces, device fabrication is conducted in our cleanroom facilities for this work. We also have active programs in the study of 2D materials surfaces such as transition metal dichalcogenides, black phosphorus and graphene. This work is funded through a combination of industrial and federal agencies.

Research Interests

Wallace’s research focuses on surface, interface, materials and integration issues for advanced devices including:

• gate dielectrics.
• gate electrodes.
• contacts.
• nanoelectronics.