U.S.-Japan Cooperative Research: Study of Phase Transition Dynamics by Coherent Phonon Excitation

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9418058 Nelson This award supports a three-year cooperative research project between Dr. Keith Nelson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Dr. Toshirou Tagi of Hokkaido University. The collaborators will investigate lattice vibrations in crystals near phase transitions, acoustic waves in glass-forming liquids and polymers, and acoustic waves in polymers and other thin films. The study of phase transitions and liquid-glass transitions is intended to advance our fundamental understanding of structural rearrangements in condensed matter. The study of thin films can provide important information about adhesion of films to substrates, and also has immediate applications to noninvasive characterization of films in microelectronics and other industries. The U.S. group, led by Dr. Nelson, has developed picosecond and femtosecond time-domain light scattering methods for study of acoustic and optic phonons in condensed matter. Of particular interest for the Japanese group, led by Dr. Yagi, is the use of femtosecond time-resolved methods for the study of phase transitions in an important class of crystals whose nonlinear optical properties are widely exploited in practical devices. The mutual benefits of the collaboration will be two-way technology transfer for the significant enhancement of both groups experimental capabilities, intellectual exchange concerning the related topics of interest to both groups, and collaborative experimental results on structural phase transitions in two important classes of materials. ***