Growing a crystal is only useful if you can understand what you actually made. I use X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and optical spectroscopy to characterize the structure, defect content, and composition of the nitrides I grow. A big part of this work is building the feedback loop between growth conditions and crystal quality, so each experiment informs the next. Working across multiple characterization techniques has also given me a broad toolkit for materials evaluation that applies well to quality control and failure analysis in industrial settings.