Ion Beam Fabrication and Modification of Nanoscale Structures and Devices with In Situ Feedback Control

这个实验凝聚态物理项目的重点是离子束处理技术的发展，以一种可控的方式制造纳米级结构。纳米级原子尺度的材料流动将通过暴露于MeV重离子轰击来控制。采用反馈控制离子轰击的新方法来控制氮化硅纳米孔的尺寸。负责观察到的这些纳米孔修饰的详细原子尺度机制尚不清楚，这是本项目的目标。基于隧道的反馈控制概念将推广到暴露于高能离子流中的表面结构。目标是制造横向纳米级电子器件，如隧道结和室温单电子晶体管。一个潜在的应用是，当单个分子通过纳米孔结构时，以每秒千到兆碱基的速度电子读取DNA碱基序列。该项目将培养纳米制造艺术和科学方面的研究生和博士后。这些尖端技能将为参与者在工业、学术界和政府的现代职业生涯做好准备。这个凝聚态物理项目将研究高能离子束对材料原子尺度结构的影响。我们感兴趣的是引起暴露材料中离子束引起的原子运动的基本过程。对这些运动的控制最终可以用来制造前所未有的小尺寸和灵敏度的电子和机械设备。这可能导致制造非常小和敏感的电子设备，能够在原子尺度上放大，计算或化学传感。后者的一个令人兴奋的例子是“DNA晶体管”，它能够在很短的时间内以电子方式读取单个DNA分子的序列。这将需要能够在15埃的长度尺度上制造具有铰接特征的固态结构。该研究项目将为纳米科学和技术重要领域的研究生和博士后提供培训，为他们在工业、政府和学术界的职业生涯做好准备。

This experimental condensed matter physics project focuses on the development of ion beam processing techniques to fabricate nanoscale structures in a controlled way. Nanoscale atomic scale flows of material will controlled by exposure to MeV heavy ion bombardment. New feedback controlled ion bombardment methods are used to control the size of nanopores in silicon nitride. The detailed atomic scale mechanism responsible for the observed modification of these nanopores is not understood and is an objective of this project. The tunneling based feedback control concept will be generalized to surface structures being exposed to high-energy ion fluxes. A goal is to fabricate lateral nanoscale electronic devices like tunnel junctions and room temperature single electron transistors. A potential application would be to electronically read DNA base sequences of a single molecule at kilo to megabase/second as the molecule moves through a nanopore structure. The project will train graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the art and science of nanofabrication. These cutting-edge skills will prepare the participants for modern careers in industry, academe, and government. %%%This condensed matter physics project will study of the influence of energetic ion beams on the atomic scale structure of materials. Of interest are fundamental processes responsible for ion beam induced motions of atoms of an exposed material. Control over these motions can ultimately be used to fabricate electronic and mechanical devices of unprecedented small size and sensitivity. This could lead to fabrication of extremely small and sensitive electronic devices, capable of amplification, computation, or chemical sensing on the atomic scale. An exciting example of the latter would be a "DNA Transistor", capable of electronically reading the sequence of a single DNA molecule on a very short time scale. This will require the ability to fabricate solid state structures with articulated features on the length scale of 15 Angstroms. This research program will provide training of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in an important area of nanoscience and technology, prepare them for careers in industry, government, and academe.