Prof. Thompson's group is focused on the use of transient thermal processing on time frames from nanosecond to sub-seconds as a method for characterization and modification of material properties, focusing particularly on semiconductor materials and applications. These timeframes are achieved primarily through the use of pulsed and CW laser sources to heat materials to temperatures far beyond conventional limits, and cool within comparable timeframes by thermal quench to substrates. His group uses these methods to study fundamental material properties such as (i) the limits to liquid-phase epitaxial crystal growth through topologically complex nanopores, (ii) metastable activation and deactivation of dopant impurities in semiconductors, (iii) reaction and diffusion mechanisms in chemically amplified photoresist systems, and (iv) limits to stability of materials (organic) at high temperatures. These studies are tightly coupled with the corresponding industrial challenges including (i) front end junction formation for VLSI, (ii) EUV lithography, (iii) flexible electronics and (iv) novel photonic and solar cell materials.