Ovidiu COJOCARU

Ovidiu COJOCARU is a Scientific Researcher at the National Institute of Materials Physics in Romania, working within the Group of "Nanomaterials and Nanostructures based on SiGeSn" since December 2023. Previously, he served as a Research Assistant at the same institution from April 2018 to November 2023. He is affiliated with the Laboratory of Atomic Structures and Defects in Advanced Materials (LASDAM).

His educational background includes:

• Doctoral School in Physics - Condensed Matter Physics (2019-2023) at the University of Bucharest
• Master's degree in Physics of Advanced Materials and Nanostructures (2017-2019) from the Faculty of Physics, University of Bucharest

Dr. COJOCARU specializes in the electrical and photoelectrical properties of SiGeSn nanocrystals embedded in various oxides (TiO₂, HfO₂, ZrO₂, SiO₂), with particular expertise in memory properties of floating gate memories and ferroelectric properties of orthorhombic HfO₂/ZrO₂ based structures. His experimental work combines electrical and photoelectrical measurements with UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy, while his theoretical work involves ab initio computations for electronic structure properties.

His publication record shows a consistent focus on short-wave infrared (SWIR) photodetection using group IV semiconductor nanomaterials, particularly SiGeSn systems. The research demonstrates how embedding matrix selection, composition engineering, and nanocrystallization processes can extend photosensitivity limits while maintaining CMOS compatibility. His work bridges fundamental materials science with practical applications in optoelectronics and memory devices.

Dr. COJOCARU's research methodology combines experimental techniques like magnetron sputtering deposition, rapid thermal annealing, HRTEM, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy with computational approaches including density functional theory. His work contributes to the development of sustainable, As/Cd/Pb-free nanomaterials that offer cost-effective integration with existing semiconductor technology.