IRGs

Two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) have been studied in III-V heterostructures for over two decades. In 1978, the innovation of modulation doping solved the problem of ionized donor scattering. Further development of […]

The theme of IRG5 is to create and investigate the properties of new multiferroics, whose very existence (as multiferroics) is made possible by strain. Traditionally the search for new multiferroics involves identifying unstrained phases that exist within composition space. Adding strain vastly increases the dimensional space available to adjust the properties of multiferroics.

The primary goal of IRG #2 is to develop and produce materials with superior mechanical properties using polymer-based processing strategies that include polymers, ceramics, metals, and structured composite materials.
Polymers and gels are versatile materials with useful mechanical, electrical and biological functions. Center scientists are developing methods for controlling the properties of these materials by tuning […]

The goal of IRG #3 is to advance the understanding of molecular plasmonics at the single nanoparticle and single molecule levels and to develop the new research tools necessary to accomplish this. The group is working to control and manipulate light on the nanometer-length scale as mediated by localized and propagating surface plasmons. The major […]

IRG-4 research enables novel technological advances in the area of hybrid organic/inorganic nanoelectronic materials by improving fundamental understanding and optimizing processing efficiency across multiple length-scales. The IRG’s collaborative efforts take advantage of several unique and complementary strengths:

Synthesis: organic high-k dielectrics and inorganic semiconductor nanowires.
Processing: single-walled carbon nanotube sorting and printable electronics.
Characterization: scanning probe microscopy and synchrotron […]

This interdisciplinary research aims to develop a new class of “patchy” nanoparticle coatings for uses in biocompatible surfaces and in flexible electronics. The work builds on this research group’s recent progress in using electrostatic interactions to drive self-assembly of charged nanoscopic components into various types of supra-structures.1-3
In this work, the group is using nanoscale electrostatics […]

IRG Senior Participants:
Paul McEuen (co-leader, Phys), Jiwoong Park (co-leader, C&CB), Garnet Chan (C&CB), Harold Craighead (A&EP), Richard Hennig (MS&E), Jeevak Parpia (Phys), Keith Schwab (Phys), Michael Spencer (E&CE)
Collaborators: K. Ekinci (Boston Univ.), P. Kim (Columbia Univ.), B. Lane (Analog Devices), M. Zalalutdinov (NRL)
Our group is exploring the properties of atomic membranes: mechanically robust, freestanding […]

This IRG on Mechanics of Amorphous and NanoscaleShear band patterns Metal Composites and Foam Structures will focus on modeling and mechanical characterization of (i) monolithic amorphous metals with improved combinations of strength, ductility, and toughness, low cost, and processability, (ii) composite materials having an amorphous matrix combined with nanoscale or microscale dispersions of elastically “soft” […]

Traditional lithographic techniques are often impractical if not impossible at the nanometer scale. This IRG studies the science needed to fabricate nanostructures through self-assembly (epitaxially or in bulk through colloidal growth) and selective area growth.
- Self-assembly involves the delicate control of surface properties so that new growth spontaneously forms structures with the desired size, shape, […]

The research activities within the MRSEC are central to its success. They are the base from which all other parts of the Center develop. The research proposed in the current project reflects a natural evolution of the work that has been performed under our past MRSEC and builds in new directions on two key themes: […]

Controlling Electrons at Interfaces
IRG Senior Participants:
Hector Abruña (C&CB, co-leader), Dan Ralph (Phys, co-leader), Piet Brouwer (Phys), Robert Buhrman (A&EP), J. C. Séamus Davis (Phys), Paul McEuen (Phys), David Muller (A&EP), Sandip Tiwari (ECE), R. Bruce van Dover (MS&E)
Collaborators: G. Coates (Cornell); W. Harneit (Freie Universität Berlin); C. W. Kim, M. K. Kim (Samsung […]

Photonic Building Blocks from Multiscale Materials
Our group is working to understand and control the optical properties of a novel class of radiative nanoparticles—fluorescent core-shell silica nanoparticles (C dots)—that combine the tunability of organic dyes with the durability of inorganic materials to achieve brightness levels comparable to quantum dots. The fundamental correlation between structure and photonic […]

Dynamics of Growth of Complex Materials
IRG Senior Participants:
George Malliaras (MS&E, co-leader), David Muller (A&EP, co-leader), Tomás Arias (Phys), Jack Blakely (MS&E), Joel D. Brock (A&EP), Paulette Clancy (C&BE), James R. Engstrom (C&BE),
Collaborators: J. Anthony (U. Kentucky), D. Bowler (Univ. Coll. London), D. Dale (CHESS), R. Headrick (U. Vermont), A. Kazimirov (CHESS), H. […]

The mission of IRG-3 is to control and characterize interfacial charge transport in directed nano-assemblies. This research is motivated by basic issues that relate to the performance of organic electronic devices, including photovoltaics, field-effect transistors, biological sensors, and memory elements. The scope covers a variety of important interfaces: metal/organic, inorganic/organic, organic/organic, and organic/biological. Our […]

IRG3 focuses on the interactions of biological systems with functional organic materials on the biologically important 1-100 nm scale. This length scale is commensurate with a range of biological assemblies (lipid assemblies, proteins, viruses, and cells) that lie between the well-studied molecular and micrometer limits, and therefore offers exciting prospects for discovery. IRG3 combines hierarchical […]

Interfaces between organic and inorganic materials are now critical to many areas of science and technology, impacting such diverse areas as efficient solid-state lighting, consumer electronics and chemical/biological sensing. Yet there remains very little understanding of how to predict and control the chemical and physical properties of these interfaces at the nanoscale. The goal of […]

Fundamental Issues in Materials Integration on Silicon investigates the fundamental atomistic and mesoscopic mechanisms underlying the integration of materials, devices and structures on silicon, as an integration platform. Materials integration on Si leverages the power of CMOS through the addition of other components, thereby increasing function while maintaining the advantages and the versatility of […]

The next generation of polymer-based materials will rely on the incorporation of multiple components to achieve superior and tunable properties; this, in turn, will require control over chemical connectivity and morphology from the nanometer scale up to microns. The thermodynamic incompatibility of most polymer pairs demands a flexible strategy for designing hybrid materials in both […]

The last decade has witnessed considerable progress in the development of organic semiconductors as an alternative to amorphous silicon for low cost, thin film electronics. The attractive properties of organic semiconductors- low temperature processability, efficient electroluminescence, and reasonable charge carrier mobilities- have led to expectations of a new ‘plastic’ electronics with applications ranging from flexible […]

The unifying theme of the Magnetic Heterostructures group (IRG 3) is to achieve a thorough understanding of spin transport, magnetization dynamics, and exchange coupling in materials with precisely defined and well-characterized interfaces, including those with tailored interfacial disorder. Magnetism is the basis for many present, near term, and future technologies, including magnetic read heads and […]

Engineered nanoparticles present a wide range of opportunities for the synthesis and assembly of materials with entirely new electronic, optical or mechanical properties. They are of interest for materials science because their size-dependent characteristics give rise to an entirely new spectrum of materials properties. In addition, nanoparticles offer new ways of forming combinations of very […]

The development of all-epitaxial metal/semiconductor nanocomposite systems by MBE (molecular beam epitaxy)-growth represents a novel and unique approach to the fabrication of precisely defined nanoscopic architectures that cannot be produced using conventional techniques. Such an approach will open up an entirely new class of materials with enormous implications for electronic devices that have the […]

The research themes of IRG3 focus on the electronic properties of confined systems. Ongoing projects include the study of superconducting and semiconducting nanowires, ferroelectric thin films and a new effort on graphene sheets. These activities are complemented by a synthetic effort in low dimensional nanostructures. This has been a productive year for this IRG with […]

The IRG research projects are augmented by seed projects in materials science research. At present there are three seed projects in the CCMR funded through a combination of NSF and Cornell University resources.

SEED Leader: Min Ouyang
We are interested in exploring new physics, materials and applications based on the spin degree of freedom of electrons and nuclei within ordered nano-engineered architecture with an emphasis on both development of novel synthetic methodologies for spin-based hybrid organic-inorganic nanostructures and fundamental studies of spin-charge interactions and spin transport within nanostructured […]

SEED Leader: Sang Bok Lee
We are interested in synthesis of multifunctional nanotubes and nanowires with various materials such as conductive polymers, metal oxides, metals, and their composites materials, based on well-controlled template synthesis method. Using these nanotube/nanowire structures, we are exploring new chemical, physical, electrochemical, and biological properties and their applications in fast electrochemical […]

Figure 1. Transmission electron microscope image of hybrid porous silica nanoparticles, synthesized via high-temperature aerosol methods. A,B) phase-segregated SiO2/Fe2O3 particles; superparamagnetic nanocomposite particles; C) nanoporous silica particles.

SEED Leaders: Sheryl Ehrman, Douglas English, Lyle Isaacs, Michael Zachariah
We are using ultra-sensitive fluorescence-based measurements to evaluate the effects of surface chemistry on the loading and release of […]

IRG2 seeks to understand the science, technology, and fabrication of large-scale ordered structures with features on the nanometer to micrometer scale. Substrates of square centimeters in area covered with trillions of organic or inorganic structures could be employed in nanofilters, sensors, catalytic supports, quantum dots, optical devices, and ultradense memories. Current foci of research include […]

Many state-of-the-art microelectronic, photonic and MEMS devices are based upon small scale contacts for which performance and fabrication are governed by the deformation, adhesion, and transport properties of many diverse materials and interfaces. Yet despite the widespread use of such devices, there is only a limited understanding of the phenomena governing adhesion, a shortfall that […]

Senior Investigators:
Moungi G. Bawendi (group leader)
Raymond C. Ashoori
Rajeev J. Ram
Leonid S. Levitov
Marc A. Kastner

Research Goals: Modern electronics has provided the foundation for the scientific and technological advances of the last few decades but will soon face serious obstacles that may limit further miniaturization and development. Nanoscale elements, with properties dominated by quantum mechanics, are expected […]

Senior Investigators:
Michael F. Rubner (group leader)
Robert E. Cohen
Paula T. Hammond
Anne M. Mayes
Caroline A. Ross
Edwin L. Thomas

Research Goals: Polymers and polymer nanocomposites with functional electronic, optical and bio-interface properties are becoming increasing more important in many new technologies that exploit nanoscale related properties and effects. This IRG seeks to gain a fundamental understanding of the […]

IRG 2 designs and implements strategies for Hierarchically Assembled Molecular Materials, composed of molecular assemblies on surfaces that express novel function. Three synergistic themes develop functional organic and inorganic elements as well as general routes for their proximal assembly, leading to the creation of novel hierarchical materials with tailored chemical activity or, for more physical objectives, enhanced electronic, optical, or magnetic response. A new direction explores the self-assembly and electronic properties of self-assembled nanocrystal superlattices.

One focus of MRSEC research is novel ways of making nanocrystals. We are pursuing new ways of synthesizing BaTiO3 particles by colloidal (TEM figure 1) and hydrothermal methods, several types of iron oxide particles by a variety of methods (gamma-Fe2O3, figure 2), CeO2-y by room temperature liquid phase methods (figure 3), and others, including NiSe, […]

Materials for Information Storage Media
IRG2 seeks new materials and new processes to underpin advances in future high density information storage media. Charge Storage Media: A conducting AFM tip was used to write, read, erase and rewrite charged domains in films of redox gradient dendimers. The size of the charged domains was of the order of […]