The Canada Research Chair in Integrative Nanoscale and Hybrid Materials develops innovative nanofabrication and integration methods to enable tailored hybrid and nanoscale semiconductor structures. The research efforts carried out by the Chair will lead to the development of a new class of functional materials relevant for applications in nanoelectronics, opto-electronics, carbon-free energy conversion and bio-integrated technologies.

As nanotechnology becomes increasingly integrated into the development of materials and engineering practices to address every significant 21st century challenge whether it is to preserve the environment, implement novel communication tools, build efficient vehicles and aircrafts, enhance safety and security of human kinds, or provide them with better medical care. Tackling these multifaceted challenges requires collaborative, multidisciplinary and integrated research; enhancing our knowledge of functional semiconductor nanoscale materials and devices is particularly important.

As Canada Research Chair in Integrative Nanoscale and Hybrid Materials at École Polytechnique de Montréal, Dr. Oussama Moutanabbir focuses on expanding the fundamental understanding of the basic physical properties held by a variety of semiconductor nanomaterials—including nanomembranes, nanowires, two-dimensional layers, superlattices and quantum dots.

To this end, Moutanabbir and his team at the Nano and Hybrid Materials Laboratory have been developing and using unique combinations of nanofabrication and integration tools to enable a variety of new, complex, nanostructured materials—from stretchable, bendable electronics created from flexible semiconductor nanomembranes to high-efficiency solar cells based on nanowires and ultrathin layer transfer technologies.

This potential impact of Moutanabbir's research is significant. Harnessing nanoscale and quantum phenomena will open the door to create an entirely new class of functional materials with applications in nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, carbon-free energy conversion and bio-integrated technologies.