About
Professor Chalker obtained his BSc (1982) and PhD (1986) from University College Cardiff in the University of Wales. After completing his thesis, sponsored by UKAEA, he joined the Materials Development Division at the Harwell Laboratory in Oxfordshire. He worked in the field of materials characterisation, firstly in secondary ion mass spectrometry and later in electron spectroscopies applied to a wide range of materials. With the formation of AEA Technology plc, he became the head of Electronic Materials Team within the Product Development Group. In this role, he was responsible for a range of manufacturing coating technologies and ceramic composite materials. In 1997, he moved to Materials Science and Engineering at the University where he now a professor working in the field of functional materials and process technologies. He has worked extensively with industry to translate fundamental materials chemistry into commercial processes and products. Professor Chalker is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.
The Functional materials group in the School of Engineering at Liverpool hosts a range of state-of-the-art facilities for the deposition and analysis of ultra thin film materials including:
- Atomic layer deposition reactors (including three thermal ALD systems, one plasma enhanced ALD system and a prototype VUV light assessed ALD system).
- A direct liquid injection MOCVD reactor that has been adapted to allow both CVD and ALD
- A state of the art Qtac 100 low energy ion scattering (LEIS) facility with a secondary sputter gun for depth profiling and a quasi in-situ processing chamber where we can simulate processes such as ALD.
- A spectroscopic ellipsometry for the assessment of film thickness and optical properties.
- X-ray diffractometer (XRD) to assess microstructure.
- A confocal Raman/ photoluminescence microscope with pump lasers spanning from 325nm through to 780nm
- An atomic force microscope (AFM) to assess surface topography.
- Heat treatment furnace for post growth heat treatments of films.
- Four point probe system to assess sheet resistance.
- Hall effect probe station to assess room temperature carrier concentration and mobility.
Prizes or Honours
- EuroAsia IC Global Award (EuroAsia Semiconductor, 2007)
- Teamwork in Innovation Award 2005 (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2005)