CAREER: Electronic, Chemical, and Mechanical Interactions at the Nanometer and Single - Molecule Scale

University Of California-Irvine, Irvine CA

Investigators

Abstract

This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) project aims to provide educational and research opportunities for students interested in nanometer-scale materials and electronics. The research goals of the project are to build a better understanding of electronic devices made from nanoscale materials. Because the electrically active components in these devices can incorporate very small numbers of atoms or conduction channels, the devices are exquisitely sensitive to electrostatic, chemical and mechanical perturbations and are excellent probes of the interactions between these properties. The research program will develop techniques for identifying and controlling such interactions, for example by identifying the electronic signatures of chemical interactions between adsorbate molecules and nanowire conductors. In addition to the research goals, this project will develop a summer laboratory course where students can observe and participate in ongoing nanoscience research. Using an active learning environment, students will explore the interdisciplinary nature of nanoscience and the various ways that electronic, chemical, and mechanical properties vary and become more closely interdependent at the nanometer scale. This integration of education and research will allow students to experience the dynamics of scientific discovery in a rapidly developing new field. This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) project aims to provide educational and research opportunities for students interested in nanometer-scale materials and electronics. The research goals of the project are to build a better understanding of ultrasmall electronics made from novel nanowire materials, which have a variety of unusual properties. For example, nanowire electronics are exquisitely sensitive to tiny changes, such as when a single molecule from the air lands on the device. Further investigation is necessary to understand the science behind this sensitivity. The research is currently leading to new types of detectors able to sense ultralow concentrations of harmful chemicals. In addition to the research goals, this project will develop a summer laboratory course where students can observe and participate in ongoing nanoscience research. Using an active learning environment, students will explore the interdisciplinary nature of nanoscience and the various ways that electronic, chemical, and mechanical properties vary and become more closely interdependent at the nanometer scale. This integration of education and research will allow students to experience the dynamics of scientific discovery in a rapidly developing new field.