In a normal material, electrons repel each other due to their charge. In the copper-oxide superconductors, however, an attractive force develops between electrons that pairs them up at temperatures up to 140 degrees above absolute zero. Understanding the reason for this pairing has remained an elusive goal in condensed matter physics research over the past two decades.
In a recent publication in Nature, we reported bulk metallic glass (BMG) matrix composites exhibiting >10% tensile ductility and Fracture Toughness comparable to or exceeding the toughest metals known [1]. These high performance composites demonstrate the potential of metallic glass as revolutionary structural metals. The BMG matrix
Producing high quality thin films of controlled thickness is a critical step for the development of ferroelectric nanophotonic devices. Developed recently, the process referred to as layer transfer has been shown to be very promising: ions are implanted in a plan parallel to the interface of a bilayer system that is then heated.
Single-crystal organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are ideal device structures for studying fundamental science associated with charge transport in organic materials and have demonstrated outstanding electrical characteristics. However, it remains a technical challenge to integrate single-crystal devices into practical electronic applications.
Objective: To develop novel microfluidic flow cells that allow trapping of single DNA molecules and studies of the binding of sequence-specific probes to the trapped DNA.
The University of Maryland (UMD) MRSEC joined the NISE Network in the nation-wide effort to bring nanoscience to communities across the country during the week of March 29 - April 6, 2008.
The coupling of the magnetic and ferroelectric order in multiferroics produces new excitations of mixed magnetic (magnons) and lattice (phonons) character ; electro-magnons.
Multiferroic Y(Lu)MnO3 undergoes an isostructural transition at the magnetic Neel transition, producing giant atomic displacement for every atom in the unit cell.
Electrochemical oxidation of aluminum produces very regular arrays of nanopores. UMD-MRSEC researchers are mastering (1) nanopore synthesis and (2) deposition of coaxial multilayers of ultrathin films into the nanopores to create a new generation of devices for storing electrical energy that function as supercapacitors and batteries.
