For technology to advance, we must continue to research. To improve. To innovate.

However, to do research, we have to fund it first.

Dr. Ridwan Sakidja just got his funding.

He is working on a collaborative project designing and fabricating tunnel junctions to enable technology for future electronics.

To do this, they have to create a very thin insulating layer, known as a tunnel barrier.

Tunnel barriers exist, but they are thick. The research team will work to slim them down.

In addition to Sakidja, associate professor of physics at Missouri State, two others teamed together for this grant.

They are both from the physics department at The University of Kansas (KU).

• Dr. Judy Wu, distinguished professor
• Dr. Siyuan Han, professor

They received a three-year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant.

Missouri State University will receive $106,712 of the grant for the project.

Their project started Sept. 1.

KU is supplying the state-of-the-art fabrication facility. Missouri State is guiding the design aspects.

They are also putting undergraduate students to work, as well as hiring graduate assistants.

“Our ability to improve the quality of the tunnel barrier is essential to the fabrication of the tunnel junctions,” Sakidja said. “A successful fabrication of such a tunnel junction will have a great impact toward fabrication on advanced device applications.”