{"id":23,"date":"2017-03-20T10:24:26","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T14:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1408.mse.ncsu.edu\/narayan\/?page_id=23"},"modified":"2025-09-08T18:03:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T22:03:54","slug":"research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mse.ncsu.edu\/narayan\/research\/","title":{"rendered":"Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
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Professor Narayan\u2019s group advances non-equilibrium materials synthesis and device integration. Foundational work spans ion implantation and laser annealing (supersaturated semiconductor alloys; ultra-shallow p\u2013n junctions), discovery of pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) with tunable oxide alloys (e.g., VO\u2082, ZnMgO, ZnCdO), self-assembled magnetic nanodots, and recent discoveries of Q-carbon<\/strong> and Q-BN<\/strong> enabling direct conversion of carbon \u2192 diamond and h-BN \u2192 c-BN at ambient conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n

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\n 10+\n <\/div>\n

\n U.S. patents on Q-carbon\/BN\/diamond devices\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n\n

Reported properties include ultra-hardness, room-temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM), high-Tc superconductivity in B-doped Q-carbon, negative-electron-affinity field emission, electrochromism, heavy n\/p doping beyond solubility limits, and NV-nanodiamond platforms for quantum technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research Thrusts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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  • Non-equilibrium laser processing & PLD<\/strong>\n
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    • Nanosecond laser melting\/rapid quench; supersaturated alloys; ultra-shallow junctions; PLD growth of oxides with bandgap control (deep-UV \u2192 IR).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Q-phases & direct conversions<\/strong>\n
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      • Q-carbon and Q-BN formation; carbon \u2192 diamond and h-BN \u2192 c-BN at room temperature\/pressure; wafer-scale patterning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Domain Matching Epitaxy (DME)<\/strong>\n
          \n
        • Epitaxial integration across large lattice misfit by matching integral plane multiples; nanolayers\/dots\/rods on practical substrates (e.g., Si(100)).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Self-assembled magnetic nanodots<\/strong>\n
            \n
          • 3D ordered arrays with substrate alignment; routes to spin-based device concepts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Defect engineering & RTFM<\/strong>\n
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            • Laser-introduced near-surface defects to tailor electrical\/magnetic properties in oxides (ZnO, NiO, VO\u2082), perovskites (BiFeO\u2083), and topological oxides (Sr\u2083SnO).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Devices & applications<\/strong>\n
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              • Nano-pocket LEDs, spin transistors, smart sensors, wear-resistant\/field-emission coatings, quantum sensing\/communication.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                Signature Contributions & Highlights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                  \n
                • 1981 PRL:<\/strong> Transition-metal nanodots in ceramics (early bulk nanocrystalline route).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Ion implantation & laser annealing:<\/strong> Supersaturated semiconductor alloys; laser-diffused ultra-shallow p\u2013n junctions (solute trapping).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Pulsed-laser deposition:<\/strong> Growth of VO\u2082, ZnMgO, ZnCdO with systematic bandgap tuning.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Domain Matching Epitaxy:<\/strong> Paradigm for epitaxy across misfit scale; integration on Si(100); nano-pocket LED concept (quantum-confinement-enhanced IQE).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Q-carbon \/ Q-BN:<\/strong> Ambient-condition conversion to diamond and c-BN; reported ultra-hardness, RTFM, high-Tc B-doped Q-carbon; NV nanodiamonds for quantum devices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                  Funded Research Projects (selected)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
                  Project<\/th>Sponsor<\/th>Years<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
                  Direct Conversion of Carbon into Q-carbon and Diamond; Novel Nanostructures<\/td>NSF<\/td>2017\u20132019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  Ultrafast Phase Transition & Structure\u2013Property Correlations of Vanadium Oxide<\/td>NSF<\/td>2014\u20132018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  Doping of Diamond & c-BN Beyond Solubility Limits for Solid-State Devices<\/td>ARO<\/td>2017\u20132021<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  Novel Epitaxial Vanadium Oxide Thin-Film Heterostructures<\/td>NSF<\/td>2013\u20132019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  Topological Insulator Hybrid Structures for Optoelectronics<\/td>NSF<\/td>2013\u20132018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  Q-carbon & Diamond Coatings on WC\/Steel Cutting Tools<\/td>National Oilwell Varco<\/td>2017\u20132018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  High-Efficiency Organic Solar Cells with Transparent Electrodes<\/td>NSF<\/td>2007\u20132014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  Ultrafast Phase Transition in Vanadium Oxide<\/td>NSF<\/td>2008\u20132014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  High-Efficiency Nanostructured LEDs on Nonpolar Substrates<\/td>NSF<\/td>2008\u20132014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  III-Nitride & II-Oxide Heterostructures and Devices<\/td>ARO<\/td>2014\u20132018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  Wafer Engineering of III-nitrides & ZnMgO Alloys<\/td>Kopin Corp.<\/td>2007\u20132010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  Defect Engineering & DME in III-nitride Heterostructures<\/td>Veeco Corp.<\/td>2011\u20132014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  Defect Engineering in Nanostructured Materials<\/td>NSF<\/td>2011\u20132014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  TiN Nanowire Technology for Energy Harvesting<\/td>UNC-GA<\/td>2017\u20132018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
                  \n
                  \n \n
                  \n

                  Domain Matching Epitaxy (DME) \u2014 At a Glance<\/h2>\n

                  DME matches integral multiples of lattice planes<\/strong> across film\/substrate interfaces, accommodating misfit by domain variation<\/strong>. This enables epitaxy of challenging materials (e.g., perovskites NdNiO\u2083, VO\u2093, TiO\u2093, NiO; Sr\u2083SnO; BiFeO\u2083) on cost-effective substrates, supports III-nitride device integration on Si\/sapphire, and underpins nano-pocket LED<\/strong> architectures with enhanced internal quantum efficiency.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

                  \n\n
                  \"semiconductors\"<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

                  Impact & Devices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                    \n
                  • Opto\/Power:<\/strong> Nano-pocket LEDs; high-efficiency III-nitride structures; band-engineered oxides.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Spin\/Quantum:<\/strong> RTFM oxides and Q-carbon; NV-nanodiamond platforms for sensing\/communication.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Coatings\/Surfaces:<\/strong> Ultra-hard, adherent Q-carbon\/diamond coatings; negative-electron-affinity emitters; electrochromic films.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Integration:<\/strong> Wafer-scale patterning; epitaxy on Si(100); nanostructured layers\/dots\/rods for device prototyping.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
                    \n
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                    \n <\/svg>\n\n <\/div>\n
                    \n

                    Publication Archive<\/h2>\n

                    For full publications and citations, see Google Scholar.<\/p>\n \n

                    \n \n Google Scholar<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                    Reported properties include ultra-hardness, room-temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM), high-Tc superconductivity in B-doped Q-carbon, negative-electron-affinity field emission, electrochromism, heavy n\/p doping beyond solubility limits, and NV-nanodiamond platforms for quantum technologies. Research Thrusts Signature Contributions & Highlights Funded Research Projects (selected) Impact & Devices<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":536,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/split-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"backgroundColor\":\"custombg_seven\",\"imageID\":677,\"imageURL\":\"https:\/\/mse.ncsu.edu\/narayan\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/09\/wafer-scaled.jpeg\",\"useCTA\":false}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-23","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mse.ncsu.edu\/narayan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mse.ncsu.edu\/narayan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mse.ncsu.edu\/narayan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mse.ncsu.edu\/narayan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/536"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mse.ncsu.edu\/narayan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/mse.ncsu.edu\/narayan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":764,"href":"https:\/\/mse.ncsu.edu\/narayan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23\/revisions\/764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mse.ncsu.edu\/narayan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}