Aaron Hamilton, a ULM undergraduate student working with John F. Anderson in the department of mathematics and physics, presented physics research on titanium dioxide films deposited on silicon wafers at the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society in Nashville, Tenn. on Nov. 9.

His presentation was titled “TiO2 Films on Si(111) by Dilute Aqueous Chemical Bath Deposition.” Hamilton presented the technical aspects of the deposition method, the nature of the resulting titanium oxide film, its surface/bulk crystalline structure, and what possible impacts this technique could have on solar cells, protective coatings, and pollution/bacterial control on surfaces in medical settings.

Hamilton also highlighted appealing aspects of the ease and simplicity in which these films were produced. The resulting films were clean and exhibited good overall coverage of the silicon wafer as measured by X-ray Diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Scanning Electron Microscopy images showed that the film had a granular surface and was porous, which points toward applications in photocatalysis.

Anderson, an assistant professor of physics, is interested in chemically deposited thin films and praised Hamilton’s work. “This is the beginning of an exciting and productive experimental physics research effort at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.”

Hamilton is majoring in premedical studies. This research was done at ULM and at the Surface Science Laboratory at Tulane University in New Orleans.