Electron Transport in Nanostructures and Single Molecules

该研究项目的重点是两类纳米结构的电子特性，金属纳米颗粒和单分子，它们是相关的，因为它们足够小，电子可以被操纵通过单个量子力学状态流动，而不是通过一个连续的能级，就像在较大的设备中一样。 拟议的工作旨在开发新的制造技术，将纳米粒子和单分子纳入电气设备，并利用这些技术来获得新的见解，这些系统中的电子传输的物理。 最终目标是在单量子态和单个化学键的水平上理解电传导。 这项工作将解决一些基本问题：作用于纳米结构中电子的不同力如何影响量子能级的光谱？ 哪些物理过程影响通过纳米结构和分子的自旋相关传输？ 单分子中的电子传输在哪些方面与纳米颗粒相似，由于振动、电荷重新配置、溶剂效应和屏蔽的差异，它在哪些方面不同？ 从事该项目的研究生和本科生将获得纳米技术方面的广泛专业知识，以及口头和书面展示工作的技能。 这种培训将为他们在教育，研究和/或商业方面的各种可能的职业生涯做好准备。通过将电子设备缩小到纳米尺度，探索一种新的制度已经成为可能，在这种制度中，电子被操纵流过各个能级，而不是通过有效连续的状态谱。 该研究项目将开发新的制造方法来制造纳米级器件，它将研究通过单个能级控制电子流动的技术，并将确定这种能力是否可以导致在较大器件中不可能实现的器件功能。 这项工作将结合两种类型的纳米级构建块，直径小于10纳米的金属颗粒和设计和合成的单个分子，作为电子晶体管。最终的目标将是在单个化学键的水平上理解电传导。 这项工作将侧重于基本的物理问题，这些问题与电子在能级之间移动的速率有关，作用在电子上的不同力的影响，电子自旋在影响其运动中的作用，以及分子器件如何由于分子可能扭曲和振动而与固态结构不同。从事该项目的研究生和本科生将获得纳米技术方面的广泛专业知识，以及口头和书面展示工作的技能。 这项培训将为他们在教育，研究和/或商业方面的各种可能的职业做好准备。

This research project focuses on the electronic properties of two classes of nanostructures, metal nanoparticles and single molecules, which are related in that they are small enough that electrons can be manipulated to flow via individual quantum-mechanical states, rather than through a continuum of energy levels as is the case in larger devices. The proposed work is aimed both at developing new fabrication techniques for incorporating nanoparticles and single molecules into electrical devices, and also at exploiting these techniques to gain new insights into the physics governing electron transport in these systems. The ultimate goal is to understand electrical conduction at the level of single quantum states and individual chemical bonds. The work will address a number of fundamental questions: How do the different forces, which act on electrons in nanostructures, affect the spectrum of quantum levels? What physical processes affect spin-dependent transport through nanostructures and molecules? In what ways is electron transport in single molecules similar to nanoparticles, and in what way is it different, due to vibrations, charge reconfiguration, solvent effects, and differences in screening? The graduate and undergraduate students working on the project will gain broad expertise in nanotechnology, as well as skills in presenting their work verbally and in writing. This training will prepare them for a variety of possible careers in education, research, and/or business.By shrinking electronic devices to the nanometer scale, it has become possible to explore a new regime, where electrons are manipulated to flow through individual energy levels rather than through an effectively continuous spectrum of states. This research project will develop new fabrication methods to make nanoscale devices, it will investigate techniques for controlling the flow of electrons through single energy levels, and it will determine whether this capability can lead to device functions not possible in larger devices. The work will incorporate two types of nanoscale building blocks, metal particles less than 10 nm in diameter and individual molecules designed and synthesized to act as electrical transistors. The ultimate goal will be to understand electrical conduction at the level of individual chemical bonds. The work will focus on fundamental physical questions having to do with the rates at which electrons move between energy levels, the effects of different of forces acting on the electrons, the role of the electron's spin in affecting its motion, and how molecular devices may differ from solid-state structures due to the fact that molecules may twist and vibrate. The graduate and undergraduate students working on the project will gain broad expertise in nanotechnology, as well as skills in presenting their work verbally and in writing. This training will prepare them for a variety of possible careers in education, research, and/or business.