Paul Simmonds, Ph.D.

Biography

Dr. Paul Simmonds completed his Ph.D. in semiconductor physics at the University of Cambridge, where he worked with Profs. David Ritchie and Michael Pepper. His research focused on the growth of thin III-V semiconductor films and nanostructures by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) for studies of electron transport in low-dimensional, high-mobility materials. Dr. Simmonds moved to the US in 2007 to work as a postdoc, first with Prof. Christopher Palmstrøm at the University of Minnesota / University of California, Santa Barbara and then, from early 2009, at Yale University with Prof. Minjoo Larry Lee.

Dr. Simmonds’ research at Yale was chiefly based on his discovery that by using tensile strain it is possible to create III-V quantum dots on (110) and (111) surfaces, with potential significance for the fields of quantum computing and spintronics. From September 2011 to September 2014, Dr. Simmonds managed the Integrated NanoMaterials Laboratory at the University of California, Los Angeles. Working with Prof. Diana Huffaker, Dr. Simmonds oversaw research on two interconnected MBE tools configured to grow a range of different semiconductor materials for electronic and photonic applications. Dr. Simmonds was also Chair of the IEEE Photonics Society, Los Angeles Chapter.

Dr. Simmonds joined Boise State University as Assistant Professor in October 2014, with a joint appointment in the Department of Physics and the Micron School of Materials Science & Engineering. He heads the CEN (Collaboratory for Epitaxy of Nanomaterials) focusing on the MBE growth of novel semiconductor nanostructures, dissimilar materials integration, and strained thin-film heterostructures. Dr. Simmonds is a Senior Member of the IEEE.

Research

Our group works at the convergence between condensed matter physics, materials science and electrical engineering. Dr. Simmonds is a firm believer in the power of interdisciplinary collaboration for solving the biggest, most important problems, and this is the spirit in which the group pursues research. Our specific research interests center on the synthesis of novel semiconductor nanomaterials and nanostructures, for example quantum dots, 2D materials, thin films and nanowires. To do this we use molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), a highly-advanced technique for growing ultrapure semiconductor crystals with atomic-level control over nanomaterial size. As our group explores these nanomaterials we gain a deeper understanding of the physics underlying their behavior. In turn, this knowledge enables us to design and engineer nanomaterials for specific applications. The nanomaterials created are used to tackle various key problems in modern physics, from quantum cryptography to spintronics.