Experimental condensed matter physics. Professor DeSmet is interested in oxide films, ionic conduction in solids, the interaction of polarized light with solids, and ellipsometry. 

An anodic oxide film may be formed if a metal is made the anode in an electrochemical cell. Oxygen from the electrolyte and the metal combine to form the oxide film and as the film grows ions are transported through it under the influence of an electric field of several million volts per centimeter. Anodic oxide films are used in electrolytic capacitors and as corrosion protection. 

An ellipsometer measures the change in the polarization state of light reflected from a surface; it is called an ellipsometer because the most general polarization state of light is elliptical. Ellipsometry can be used to study the growth and optical properties of thin films because the reflection properties of a sample depend on the film's thickness and optical properties. Ellipsometric measurements have shown that some anodic oxide films are optically anisotropic and exhibit large electrostrictive effects while others are electrochromic. 

Recent work centers on the anodic oxide of zirconium and electrochromism of the anodic oxide of vanadium. In addition, theoretical studies of reflection of polarized light from birefringent materials have been conducted. 

Professor DeSmet received his doctoral degree from Illinois in 1967. He joined the faculty at The University of Alabama in 1966. 

Recent Publications:
"The 4 × 4 Matrix Formalism as Applied to Internal Conical Refraction," D.J.DeSmet, Journal of the Optical of America A, 10, 186-190 (1993). 

"Brewster's angle and optical anisotropy," D.J.DeSmet, The American Journal of Physics, 62, 246-248 (1994). 

"Ellipsometry of Anisotropic Substrates: Re-examination of a Special Case," D.J.DeSmet, Journal of Applied Physics, 76, 2571-2574 (1994). 

"Evidence for an Ideal Transparent Anodic Oxide Film on Zirconium," J.L. Ord and D.J.DeSmet, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 142, 879-882 (1995).