Seth Hubbard Headshot

Seth Hubbard

Professor

School of Physics and Astronomy
College of Science
Director of Compound Semiconductor Enterprise Center
Program Faculty, School of Chemistry and Materials Science
Director of NanoPower Research Laboratories
Director of Physics Ph.D. Program

585-475-4214
Office Location
Office Mailing Address
IT Collaboratory, Bldg. 17, Rm. 2115

Seth Hubbard

Professor

School of Physics and Astronomy
College of Science
Director of Compound Semiconductor Enterprise Center
Program Faculty, School of Chemistry and Materials Science
Director of NanoPower Research Laboratories
Director of Physics Ph.D. Program

Education

BS, Drexel University; MS, Case Western Reserve University; Ph.D., University of Michigan

Bio

Dr. Seth Hubbard is currently a Professor of Microsystem Engineering and Physics at the Rochester Institute of Technology as well as serving as Director of the NanoPower Research Laboratory.  Dr. Hubbard currently leads a team of undergraduate and graduate students and research staff working on the epitaxial growth, fabrication and characterization of nanostructured solar photovoltaic devices.  He has received over $10M in funded external research related to photovoltaic device development, has authored or co-authored over 170 journal and conference publications on electronic and photovoltaic devices and received an NSF CAREER Award as well as the RIT Trustee Scholarship Award. Dr. Hubbard serves as an Editor of the IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics and is actively involved in the organization of the IEEE Photovoltaics Specialists Conference.  He has been the advisor to 6 post-doctoral fellows, 7 PhD graduates and over 15 MS students. Prof. Hubbard received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from The University of Michigan under Prof. Dimitris Pavlidis studying the effects of materials properties and epitaxial device design on high power GaN and AlGaN heterojunction field effect transistors grown using vapor phase epitaxy.

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585-475-4214

Areas of Expertise

Select Scholarship

Journal Paper
Khatiwada, D., et al. "High‐efficiency Single‐junction p‐i‐n GaAs Solar Cell on Roll‐to‐roll Epi‐ready Flexible Metal Foils for Low‐cost Photovoltaics." ,\" Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications 28. 11 (2020): 1107-1109. Web.
D’Rozario, Julia R, et al. "Thin Gallium Arsenide Solar Cells With Maskless Back Surface Reflectors." IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics 10. 6 (2020): 1681-1688. Web.
Nelson, George T, et al. "In Situ Deep-Level Transient Spectroscopy and Dark Current Measurements of Proton-Irradiated InGaAs Photodiodes." IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science 67. 9 (2020): 2051-2061. Web.
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Published Conference Proceedings
Bradshaw, Geoffrey K., et al. "Investigation of Radiative Coupling from InGaAsP Quantum Wells for Improving End-of-Life (EOL) Efficiency in Multijunction Solar Cells." Proceedings of the Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC), 2019 IEEE 46th. Ed. Sarah Kurtz. Chicago, Il: n.p., Web.
Hubbard, Seth, et al. "Thin-Barrier Strained Quantum Well Superlattice Solar Cells." Proceedings of the Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC), 2019 IEEE 46th. Ed. Sarah Kurtz. Chicago, Il: n.p., Web.
McClure, E. L., et al. "Gallium Arsenide Solar Cell Growth on Polycrystalline Germanium Substrates by Aluminum-Induced Crystallization." Proceedings of the Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC), 2019 IEEE 46th. Ed. Sarah Kurtz. Chicago, Il: n.p., Web.
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Full Length Book
Hubbard, S. PV from Fundamentals to Applications. 10 ed. Chichester, United Kingdom: Wiley, 2016. Print.
Invited Paper
Strong, W. H., D. V. Forbes, and S. M. Hubbard. "Investigation of Deep Level Defects in Electron Irradiated Indium Arsenide Quantum dots Embedded in a Gallium Arsenide Matrix." Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing. (2014). Print.
Published Article
Forbes,D., S. Hubbard,R. Raffaelle, and J.S. McNatt. “Au-catalyst -free epitaxy of InAs nanowires.” Journal of Crystal Growth, 312 (2010): 1391-1395. Print. É  *
Hubbard, S.M. “Quantum Dot Solar Cells.” in Nano-technology for photovoltaics. Ed. L. Tsakalakos. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis, 2010. n.p. Print. É 
Bailey, Christopher G., Stephen J. Polly, Joanne Okvath, David V. Forbes, Cory D. Cress, Seth M. Hubbard, Ryne P. Raffaelle. “Temperature Dependent Photoluminescence Spectroscopyof InAs/GaAs Solar Cells.” Proceedings of the 35th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference. 20-25 June 2010. n.p. Print. "  É 
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Currently Teaching

MCSE-705
3 Credits
This graduate course focuses on the epitaxial crystal growth and thin film science widely applicable in the electronics and semiconductor industry. This course provides a combination of fundamental and practical knowledge regarding deposition and characterization of metallic and semiconductor thin film materials. Topics include, but are not limited to, thermodynamics of thin film deposition, crystal structures and defects in thin films, the basic nucleation and growth mechanisms of thin films (growth models, lattice matching epitaxy and domain matching epitaxy), thin film processing techniques (physics vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, vapor phase epitaxy, molecular beam epitaxy, pulsed laser deposition), thin film growth instrumentation (energy source, chamber configurations, vacuum systems and growth controllers), and several advanced topics related to defect and dislocation control during the growth of thin films for electrical and optical devices.
MTSE-777
3 Credits
This course is a capstone project using research facilities available inside or outside of RIT.
MTSE-790
1 - 9 Credits
Dissertation research by the candidate for an appropriate topic as arranged between the candidate and the research advisor.
PHYS-601
1 Credits
This course is the first in a two-semester sequence intended to familiarize students with research activities, practices, and ethics in university, government, industry, and other professional research environments and to introduce students to research tools and skill sets important in various professional environments. As part of the course, students are expected to attend research seminars sponsored by the School of Physics and Astronomy and participate in regular journal club offerings. The course also provides training in scientific writing and presentation skills. Credits earned in this course apply to research requirements.
PHYS-780
1 - 4 Credits
This course is a graduate capstone project for students enrolled in the Professional Master’s track of the MS Physics Program.
PHYS-790
1 - 4 Credits
Graduate-level research by the candidate on an appropriate topic as arranged between the candidate and the research advisor.
PHYS-791
0 Credits
Graduate-level research by the candidate on an appropriate topic as arranged between the candidate and the research advisor.

In the News

  • August 8, 2024

    Jing Zhang is shown in the foreground, sitting in a research lab. A male colleague is shown in the background.

    NSF awards RIT nearly $3 million to advance semiconductor technologies

    The award is part of the NSF’s Research Traineeship Program (NRT), a national initiative to better prepare master’s and doctoral students for the interdisciplinary talents required in semiconductor chip development. The grant will provide 20 doctoral student fellowships to advance research in the much-needed field of semiconductor technologies.