Dr René Dost

BSc(Hons), Dipl Phys, PhD
Research Associate (SCAMMD)

Address:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street, Sheffield, S1 3JD

Telephone: +44 (0) 114 222 5499
Fax: +44 (0) 114 222 5943

Email: r.dost@sheffield.ac.uk

René Dost commenced physics studies at the Technical University of Dresden in his home town (D). Intermediate studies at Northumbria University in NCL (UK) gained him the BSc(Hons) in Applied Physics (2002) before he was awarded with the German Diploma in Physics degree (2004).

His Diploma thesis evolved from a 1-year-lasting research at the renowned Infineon Technologies Company and addressed model-based Scatterometry to monitor 2D and 3D periodic sub-µm semiconductor structures. These studies comprised Rigorous Coupled-Wave Analysis calculations, as well as, spectral ellipsometric measurements.

René returned to the UK to undertake his Ph.D. studies on "Accelerated Discovery for New Organic Semiconductors" at the University of Sheffield under supervision of Dr Martin Grell. An advanced characterisation scheme for organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) had been developed that allows for reliable and high-throughput screening of OFET parameters through dynamic acquisition. The platform also suits organic vapour sensing applications, offering real-time multi-parameter monitoring. In 2008 he was awarded with the doctor degree in Physics.

Research interests

His first appointment as Post-doctoral Research Associate by Dr Martin Grell continued his work in the field of organic electronics towards the nanometre scales. Sub-micron OFET channels were fabricated into gold using Scanning Near-field Photolithography and Nano-shaving techniques. With a subsequent change of the department and research at the Sheffield Centre for Advanced Magnetic Materials and Devices (SCAMMD) within the University of Sheffield, he then worked with Prof Mike RJ Gibbs on magnetic Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MagMEMS). This project employed an AFM-style cantilever with a magnetostrictive coating to build a mass sensor in the femtogram range, e.g. to detect an MRSA bacterium. Current work with Dr Dan A Allwood and Dr Ifan G Hughes running jointly between the Universities of Sheffield and Durham, his research focuses on developing a novel magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) magnetometer, which employs tightly focused NI radially polarized light to generate intense longitudinal light for high spatial and depth resolution measurements of patterned magnetic nanostructures.

Key publications

Journals

• DC Wedge, A Das, R Dost, J Kettle, M-B Madec, JJ Morrison, M Grell, DB Kell, TH Richardson, A Song, S Yeates, ML Turner, Real-Time Vapour Sensing using an OFET-based Electronic Nose and Genetic Programming, Sens. Actuat. B 143(1), pp. 365-372 (Dec 2009).
• A Das, R Dost, TH Richardson, M Grell, D Wedge, D Kell, JJ Morrison, ML Turner, Low cost, portable, fast multiparameter data acquisition system for organic transistor odour sensors, Sens. Actuat. B 137(2), pp. 586-591 (Apr 2009).
• R Dost, A Das, M Grell, Time-of-Flight mobility measurements in organic field-effect transistors, J. Appl. Phys. 104(8): 084519 (Oct 2008).
• R Dost, SK Ray, A Das, M Grell, Oscillator circuit based on a single organic transistor, Appl. Phys. Lett. 93(11): 113505 (Sep 2008).
• A Das, R Dost, TH Richardson, M Grell, JJ Morrison, ML Turner, A Nitrogen Dioxide Sensor Based on an Organic Transistor Constructed from Amorphous Semiconducting Polymers, Adv. Mater. 19(22), pp. 4018-4023 (Nov 2007).
• R Dost, A Das, M Grell, A novel characterization scheme for organic field-effect transistors, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., 40(12), pp. 3563-3566 (Jun 2007).

Conferences

• R Dost, Paul B, DA Allwood, IG Hughes, A precise description of the magneto-optical Kerr effec’, 56th Conference on Magnetism & Magnetic Materials (MMM 2011), Scottsdale, AZ, USA, 30 Oct – 03 Nov 2011.
• R Dost, Paul B, DA Allwood, IG Hughes, Magneto-optical Kerr effect with radially-polarized light, 56th Conference on Magnetism & Magnetic Materials (MMM 2011), Scottsdale, AZ, USA, 30 Oct – 03 Nov 2011.
• R Dost, A Das, M Grell, TH Richardson, ML Turner, JJ Morrison, Real-time monitoring of OFET parameters, SID Organic Electronics for Displays UK 2007, Imperial College London, UK, 17–18 Sep 2007.
• R Dost, A Das, M Grell, A novel characterization scheme for organic field-effect transistors, International Conference on Organic Electronics (ICOE 2007), Eindhoven, NL, 04–07 Jun 2007.
• R Dost, A Das, M Grell, Time-of-Flight mobility measurements in organic field-effect transistors, International Conference on Organic Electronics (ICOE 2008), Eindhoven, NL, 16–19 Jun 2008.
• P Reinig, R Dost, M Mört, T Hingst, U Mantz, T Schuster, N Kerwien, J Kaufmann, W Osten, Potential and limits of scatterometry: A study on bowed profiles and high aspect ratios, 2nd European Scatterometry Workshop, Porquerolles, France, 03–04 May 2004.