| Michael Holub, graduate student in electrical engineering, received a 2006 Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship. The Predoctoral Fellowship is one
of the Rackham Graduate School's most prestigious awards. It is
awarded to outstanding students who have advanced to candidacy and are working to finish their degree.
Holub's dissertation, entitled "Epitaxy of Magnetic Micro/Nanostructures and their Application toward Spin-Based Optoelectronics and Electronics," examines spin dynamics in semiconductor heterostructures through the design, epitaxial growth, fabrication, and characterization of spin-optoelectronics and spin-electronics. Special emphasis is given to spin-polarized lasers in which manipulation of electron spin via ferromagnetic semiconductors and metals allows independent modulation of the laser intensity and polarization. Such lasers offer superior performance characteristics over conventional semiconductor lasers (e.g., reduced laser threshold current as well as improved light intensity and polarization stability) and have potential applications for cryptographic telecommunications. |
