Professor Alan J Craven
Head of Solid State Physics Group and Director of the Kelvin Nanocharacterisation Centre
MA PhD (Cambridge) CPhys FInstP FRMS
Research Interests
Currently, I am leader of the Solid State Physics Group and director of the Kelvin Nanocharacterisation Centre. My principal area of research is the development and application of techniques of nanoanalysis combined with transmission electron microscopy. At present, I am working to develop the understanding of electron energy loss near edge structure and to use this understanding to extract information amount local composition and chemistry on a nanometre scale. Combined with other techniques, this provides a full description of a material allowing it local structure to be related to its processing and properties. I am a co-investigator on the SuperSTEM project to develop the next generation of instruments leading to true atomic resolution.
Using these techniques, I am involved in collaborations to study a wide range of advanced structural and functional materials. Materials currently under study include high k dielectrics for silicon, precipitation in steels, oxidic spinels and perovskites.
Recently the group has ordered a JEOL JEM-ARM 200F microscope with probe corrector and cold field emission gun. It is designed to give world class performance in both the normal operating mode and “field free” mode. The latter is crucial for studying magnetic structure. It can also be equipped with a Gatan QUANTUM 865 energy filter/spectrometer, an EOX system and electron tomography. This new system will advance our magnetic, polymer and nanoanalytical work.
Research Students Supervised
Liqiu Wang
Research Grants
• SuperSTEM - the UK aberration- corrected STEM facility (EPSRC)
• Prec-Hi-Mn: Precipitation in high manganese steel (EU Research fund coal and steel)
Teaching
Statistical Mechanics 2
Solid State 2
Electrical Engineering 1 Thermal Physics
Administrative Responsibilities
Departmental Research and Strategy Committee
Member of the Steering Committee of the CMMP Theme in SUPA
Honours Project Coordinator
Departmental Prize Committee
Member of the executive committee of the International Federation of Societies of Microscopy
Room 316
School of Physics and Astronomy
Kelvin Building
University of Glasgow
Glasgow G12 8QQ
U.K.
Email: Alan.Craven@glasgow.ac.uk
Tel: +44 141 330 5892
Secretary: +44 141 330 4707 (Ms Lucy Murray)
Fax: +44 141 330 4464