Research Description

Professor Collins’s research involves the development and application of polarized light spectroscopies based on ellipsometry and polarimetry to probe the optical properties of solids, surfaces, and thin films. Instrumentation development in Prof. Collins’s laboratory focuses on multichannel spectroscopic and imaging techniques that can be performed in real time during the fabrication and processing of materials. The material systems of interest include those used for thin film photovoltaics (such as amorphous and nano/microcrystalline silicon, transparent conductors, and polycrystalline CdTe) and those used for protective coatings (such as diamond, BN, and TiN). The goals of the research range from achieving a basic understanding of thin film growth and optical properties to improving industrial processes for photovoltaic thin films and other coatings.

Other Interesting Information

Professor Collins joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Toledo in 2004, after spending 16 years (1988 - 2003) on the physics faculty of The Pennsylvania State University. He received a Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation in 1989 – 1995. His research has been supported by the NSF, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization. He has served as editor or co-editor of seven conference proceedings on spectroscopic ellipsometry, nano/microcrystalline semiconductors, and heterogeneous silicon thin films. He has published over 300 journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters on optical instrumentation, optics of solids and thin films, photovoltaic materials and devices, and other thin film applications.