David J. Smith (physicist)

David J. Smith is a Regents' Professor of physics at Arizona State University.

He is an Australian experimental physicist and his research is focussed on using the electron microscope to study the microstructure of different materials.

He is a pioneer in high-resolution relectron microscopy technique and is very well known in his field.

His interests are focused on thin films, nanostructures, novel materials and magnetism.

His basic research centers around the development of quantitative High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy, aided by computer-controlled microscope operation and image simulation, which enables direct determination of atomic structure in defective materials.

His research also involves using electron-microscopy-based methods to characterize advanced materials such as semiconductor heterostructures, magnetic thin films and multilayers, and nanostructures.

Semiconductor systems of interest include ternary and quaternary Group III nitride alloys for light-emitting diodes and lasers, and II–VI alloys, such as mercury cadmium telluride for detectors of infra-red radiation.

Magnetic materials being studied include shape-memory alloys, as well as magnetic tunnel junctions, which are based on ferromagnet-insulator-ferromagnet combinations, that have promising applications for non-volatile, high-storage-density recording media.

Off-axis electron holography is a particularly powerful approach since it permits quantitative visualization of nanoscale electric and magnetic fields, and we are using the technique to investigate the magnetization behavior and fringing fields associated with patterned nanostructures.