Skip to content Skip to navigation

Program Highlights

Poking Holes in Graphene Makes it Magnetic

Magnetism is typically associated with “transition metal” elements such as nickel or iron, from the middle of the periodic table. 

World Record Performance of Graphene Spin Valves

Graphene (two-dimensional carbon) is an attractive material for spintronics due to weak spin-orbit coupling for robust spin transport properties. This could lead to spin-based computers that integrate logic and memory for much greater computing power.

Materials for Room Temperature Spintronics

Ordered double perovskites, such as Sr2FeMoO6, are among the very few materials that allow electrons of one spin direction to move through them as though they were passing through a normal metal, while blocking electrons of the opposite spin.  Materials that behave this way at room temperature are even more exotic.

Teaching materials science using modern electronics

Modern electronics, e.g. a smart phone, relies heavily on science and engineering: semiconductors (diodes, transistors), magnetism (hard drives), photoelectric effect (digital camera), photon generation and lasers (LEDs, CD/DVD drives), light polarization (LCD), etc. The immediacy and applicability makes electronics a great tool for teaching science and technology.

CRISP Variable Temperature, Variable Magnetic Field Ultrahigh Vacuum Scanning Force Microscope

Part of the CRISP Shared Equipment is a unique variable temperature, variable magnetic field ultrahigh vacuum scanning force microscope for applications in magnetic, electrostatic, piezoelectric, and friction force microscopy.

CRISP Professional Development Workshops

The goal of CRISP professional development workshops is to improve the quality and diversity of STEM education for science teachers in neighboring urban school districts. CRISP offers inquiry-based workshops which utilize CRISP specialized research facilities to emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of materials science and nanotechnology.

Creating new devices using oxide materials

The unique properties of transition metal oxides allow electrons to be manipulated in new ways. At CRISP, we have created an oxide device that enables a gas of electrons to be expanded or compressed with an applied electric field. The expansion or compression of the gas modulates the speed of moving electrons.

What does soft matter physics have to do with bird feathers?

Many species of birds have feathers with colors that are the result of light scattering from a disordered arrangement of nanoscale air spheres. The feathers appear to be the same color from every angle. Inspired by these beautiful feathers, we design structures of polymer nanoparticles that produce color the same way. This is a new way to make

CRISP – National Laboratory Collaborations: Advanced Photon Source & Brookhaven National Laboratory

A multi-partner collaborative effort has focused on understanding semiconductor-oxide interfaces.  This involves atomic layer precision in synthesis of the structures, correlating the structure and electronic properties using first principles, and obtaining subatomic resolution of structures from synchrotron x-ray diffraction a the Advanced Photon Source (Argonne National Laboratory) and electr

Impact of interfacial bonding on oxide functionality

Transition metal oxides exhibit many properties that can be harnessed in novel devices. For example, an epitaxial ferroelectric on silicon enables a nonvolatile transistor that remembers its state without continuous power consumption. A critical question is how the oxide/silicon interface affects the oxide functionality.

Pages