Research

The scientific interest of Nicola Pinto covers the fields of semiconductors, solid state devices and superconductors. The experimental activity has been focused on the study of the fundamental physical properties of different semiconducting materials, both amorphous and crystalline. He has been working on the growth mechanisms and the physical properties (mainly electronic transport as resistivity, Hall mobility, I-V, etc.) of different kind of semiconductors such as a-GaAs; poly and microcrystalliene Si, SiC, etc. Other compound materials (e.g., BaCl) have been tested as gas sensors. 

He was interested in optimizing the contact geometry of Si-based photovoltaic solar cells.

Since 1992, a part of its activity has been focused on IV-group elements (Si and Ge), both Si/Ge heterostructures and Si-Ge alloy films, epitaxially grown on Si or Ge substrates by the first Molecular Beam Epitaxy apparatus (Riber mod. SIVA 32) operating in Italy on this class of materials. Then, the study has been devoted to the self-assembling growth mechanisms of Si and Ge nanostructures as nanowires and quantum dots by using MBE and novel techniques as well.

In 2003 he has coordinated the national research project GEMASE (Germanium Magnetic Semiconductors) funded by the INFM (National Institute for the Physics of Matter) about the MBE growth and characterization of diluted magnetic semiconductors based on MnxGe1-x (with x<0.05).

Since 2014, he has been actively committing with researchers (N. De Leo and M. Fretto) of the Italian Metrology Institute (INRiM, Turin) in the study of the normal and superconducting properties of thin films and nanostripes of Nb based materials aimed to fabricate advanced quantum devices.

Since 2022 he is involving in the international project Lunar Gravitational Waves Antenna (LGWA), coordinated by Prof. Jan Harms of the Gran Sasso Institute (Italy), for the development and testing of superconducting devices to be operated as sensors and actuators in the LGWA detector.

Since 2023, he is collaborating with Surinder P. Singh and Sandeep Singh researcher of the Indian Metrological Institute (NPL, New Dehli, India) in the investigation of electronic transport properties and quantum fluctuation effects in NbN thin films and in the development of novel superconducting devices.