Jonathan Skuza

Research Interests

• Epitaxial thin film growth;
  • Structure-property correlations in films and nanostructures;
• Thermoelectric and photovoltaic materials; and
• Smart optical materials and plasmonics.

Education

• Ph.D. (2011), Physics, The College of William & Mary, Virginia
• M.S. (2007), Physics, The University of Toledo, Ohio
• B.S. (2004), Physics, Baldwin-Wallace College, Ohio

Current Research

High Temperature Thermoelectric Materials

The goal of this project is to develop and further improve high temperature (500 – 1000°C) thermoelectric (TE) materials, such as the NASA-developed rhombohedral epitaxy of cubic SiGe. These high temperature TE materials are considered to be promising candidates for power generation, being able to find potential worth in waste heat recovery and deep space applications. A high temperature TE characterization platform is being developed in conjunction with these materials in order to measure their TE figure of merit. Low-dimensional structures, such as thin films and quantum wells, are also being investigated, as well as other novel energy conversion concepts.

Smart Optical Materials

This study aims to improve the optical and magneto-optical properties of materials being used in smart structures, such as sensors, in order to improve their resolution in detection. Sensors that incorporate active elements that can be controlled by some external agent (modulated electric or magnetic fields) show distinct advantages. Therefore, novel materials and structures are being investigated in order to fulfill these goals.

Recent publications

C. Clavero, D. Beringer, W. M. Roach, J. R. Skuza, K. C. Wong, A. D. Batchelor, C. E. Reece, and R. A. Lukaszew, J. Cryst. Growth xx, xxxx (2012). “Strain effects on the crystal growth and superconducting properties of epitaxial Niobium ultra-thin films.”

C. Clavero, D. Beringer, W. M. Roach, J. R. Skuza, R. A. Lukaszew, and C. E. Reece, Proceedings of the 15^th International Conference on RF Superconductivity (2011), Joint Accelerator Conferences Website (JACoW). “Strain effects in the superconducting properties of Nb thin films grown on sapphire.”

K. Yang, C. Clavero, J. R. Skuza, and R. A. Lukaszew, TechConnect World: Nanotech 1, 460 (2011). “Enhancement of the magneto-optical activity via surface plasmon resonance on Au-Co nanocomposite thin films.”

J. R. Skuza, C. Clavero, K. Yang, B. Wincheski, and R. A. Lukaszew, IEEE Trans. Magn. 46, 1886 (2010). “Microstructural, magnetic anisotropy, and magnetic domain structure correlations in epitaxial FePd thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.”

K. Yang, C. Clavero, J. R. Skuza, M. Varela, and R. A. Lukaszew, J. Appl. Phys. 107, 103924 (2010). “Surface plasmon resonance and magneto-optical enhancement on Au-Co nanocomposite thin films.”

C. Clavero, K. Yang, J. R. Skuza, and R. A. Lukaszew, Optics Letters 35, 1557 (2010). “Magnetic-field modulation of surface plasmon polaritons on gratings.”

C. Clavero, K. Yang, J. R. Skuza, and R. A. Lukaszew, Optics Express 18, 7743 (2010). “Magnetic field modulation of intense surface plasmon polaritons.”

C. Clavero, J. R. Skuza, Y. Choi, D. Haskel, C. Sanchez-Hanke, R. Loloee, M. Zhernenkov, M. R. Fitzsimmons, and R. A. Lukaszew, Phys. Rev. B 80, 024418 (2009). “Enhancement of induced V polarization due to rough interfaces in polycrystalline V/Fe/V trilayers.”

C. Clavero, J. R. Skuza, J. M. Garcia-Martin, A. Cebollada, D. Walko, and R. A. Lukaszew, Phys. Rev. B 79, 104436 (2009). “Order and phase nucleation in nonequilibrium nanocomposite Fe-Pt thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.”

C. Clavero, J. R. Skuza, Y. Choi, D. Haskel, J. M. Garcia-Martin, A. Cebollada, and R. A. Lukaszew, Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 162502 (2008). “Control of the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of FePd films via Pd capping deposition.”

J. B. Gonzalez-Diaz, A. Garcia-Martin, G. Armelles, J. M. Garcia-Martin, C. Clavero, A. Cebollada, R. A. Lukaszew, J. R. Skuza, D. P. Kumah, and R.Clarke, Phys. Rev. B 76, 153402 (2007). “Surface-magnetoplasmon nonreciprocity effects in noble-metal/ferromagnetic heterostructures.”

J. R. Skuza, R. A. Lukaszew, E. M. Dufresne, D. A. Walko, C. Clavero, A. Cebollada, C. N. Cionca, and R. Clarke, Appl. Phys. Lett. 90, 251901 (2007). “Real time structural modification of epitaxial FePt thin films under x-ray rapid thermal annealing using undulator radiation.”

K. P. Acharya, J. R. Skuza, R. A. Lukaszew, C. Liyanage, and B. Ullrich, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 19, 196221 (2007). “CdS thin films formed on flexible plastic substrates by pulsed-laser deposition.”

D. P. Kumah, A. Cebollada, C. Clavero, J. M. Garcia-Martin, J. R. Skuza, R. A. Lukaszew, and R. Clarke, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 40, 2699 (2007). “Optimizing the planar structure of (111) Au/Co/Au trilayers.”

C. Sanchez-Hanke, R. Gonzalez-Arrabal, J. E. Pieto, E. Andrzejewska, N. Gordillo, D. O. Boerma, R. Loloee, J. Skuza, and R. A. Lukaszew, J. Appl. Phys. 99, 08B709 (2006). “Observation of nitrogen polarization in Fe-N using soft x-ray magnetic circular dichroism.”