Professor James Gerard Lunney

Born 23rd of June 1953, in Fermanagh, in Northern Ireland.

  2-PHASE MAGNETS   ABLATION   ABLATION DEPOSITION   ALUMINUM PLASMAS   AMBIENT OXYGEN   ANGULAR-DISTRIBUTIONS   Applied physics   BARIUM FERRITE   BEHAVIOR   BI2SR2CACU2O8   BIPOLARONIC SUPERCONDUCTIVITY   BLUE   CATHOLUMINESCENCE IMAGING   CD1-XMNXTE   CDTE   COEFFICIENTS   COPPER   CRYSTAL   DEFECT STRUCTURE   DENSITY   DEPENDENCE   DEPOSITION   DIFFUSIVE LIGHT SCATTERING   DILUTED MAGNETIC SEMICONDUCTORS   DISTRIBUTED-BRAGG-REFLECTOR   DOPED LAMNO3   DYNAMICS   EMISSION   EPITAXIAL ND0.7SR0.3MNO3-DELTA   EPITAXY   EUV SPECTROSCOPY   EVAPORATION   FERRITE THIN-FILMS   FILM LAYERED STRUCTURES   FILMS   FOAMS   GAAS   GALLIUM NITRIDE   GAN   GAS-PRESSURE   GIANT MAGNETORESISTANCE   GROWTH   HALF-METALLIC FERROMAGNET   IMPACT   ION EMISSION   LA0.7SR0.3MNO3   LASER ABLATION   Laser technology   LASER-PLASMA INTERACTION   LAYERS   LOCALIZATION   LUMINESCENCE   MAGNETORESISTANCE   MANGANITES   METALLIC MULTILAYERS   NANOWIRE FORMATION   Optical materials   Optics   OXIDE SUPERCONDUCTOR   PERPENDICULAR MAGNETIC-ANISOTROPY   PHOTOABLATION   PHOTOLUMINESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY   PLASMA DIAGNOSTICS   PLASMAS   POINT CONTACTS   POLYMER ABLATION   PULSED LASER DEPOSITION   PULSES   QUANTUM-WELL   RADIATION   RECORDING MEDIA   REFRACTIVE-INDEX   RESISTANCE   RESISTIVITY   SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY   SR   SUPERLATTICES   SURFACES   SYSTEM   THIN FILMS - FERROMAGNETIC   THIN-FILMS   TRANSITION   ULTRAVIOLET   VACUUM   WIRES   X-RAY LASER   YBCO THIN-FILMS   YIELD

My research in physics has been mainly focussed on the interaction of high power lasers with materials. During my Ph. D studies at the Rutherford Laboratory I used very large and powerful lasers to heat materials to very high temperature for laser fusion studies and X-ray laser development. I made some of the first X-ray spectroscopic measurements on laser imploded micro-balloons and observed for the first time density-dependent dielectronic satellite line emission. On joining the Department of Physics at Trinity College I was able to continue some of this work on plasma spectroscopy, and I applied some of these techniques to dense Z-pinch plasma experiments at Imperial College, London. I also published 4 important papers on: . a new pumping scheme for an X-ray laser, . a new spectroscopic method for diagnosing high density plasmas, . time-resolved X-ray diffraction from laser heated crystals, and . a method for wave-guiding in X-ray laser experiments, which has been demonstrated in large laser laboratories in US and Japan In 1986 I established a new programme of research on laser processing of materials at Trinity College. Together with my research students, we have made contributions on a number of topics in this field: . laser ablative etching of polymers and inorganic materials, . laser glazing of metallic alloys, . laser chemical vapour deposition, and . pulsed laser deposition of thin films. We were the first group in Ireland to use the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) to make thin films. PLD is a highly flexible technique for the preparation of complex materials for research. We have used the technique to make thin films of a wide range of superconducting, magnetic, semiconducting and metallic materials for several EU and nationally-funded projects with Prof. Coey and Prof. Blau. We have also shown that it is possible to use PLD to make ultra-thin multilayer films for the fabrication of multilayer mirrors and magneto-resistive devices. My group has made significant contributions on the physics of the laser ablation process. In particular, we have made important contributions to the study of laser ablation plasmas using Langmuir probes. Using these probes we have shown that in PLD the ablated vapour is substantially ionised because of strong absorption of the laser in that material. We have also been able to validate the use of adiabatic isentropic models for describing the plasma expansion. This work has benefited from a strong collaboration with Prof J. Schou at Risoe National Laboratory in Denmark We have used PLD can to prepare films wide-bandgap semiconductors such as GaN and ZnO. Some of this work has been done in collaboration with researchers at Dublin City University. We are now exploring the potential of doping these materials to semiconducting thin films that are ferromagnetic at room temperature. Such materials may prove to be important in the emerging field of spin electronics. I also have a continuing interest in finding new applications for laser ablation, such as using it to provide the gas load for pulsed discharge plasma creation schemes. In this context I was partner in an EU-funded TMR contract on in capillary discharges for pulsed X-ray sources.