Nanoscale Examination of Electronic States in Molecular and Atomic Wires

该项目使用原子尺度工程来生产研究一维电子态的材料。碳纳米管和相关的纳米豆荚结构由于其简单和均匀，为控制实验提供了独特的优势。其他一维结构是基于原子线，通过原子吸附分子的自组装或通过直接操纵表面上的单个原子来制造。扫描隧道显微镜(STM)将被用来在单个原子和分子的尺度上直接可视化、局部表征和修饰物质。将对电子态进行研究，以解决与发展分子和原子规模的电子器件有关的问题。详细的结构和输运研究将有助于开发理解复杂耦合系统中电子之间关联的一般问题所需的更准确的理论模型。该项目将纳米科学中与技术相关的研究与凝聚态物理前沿的基本问题的研究结合在一起。在能够重复测量和理解纳米结构的基本电子性质之前，基于分子的电子、生物或化学设备的应用是不可能实现的。该项目将研究和教育结合在一起--对进行实验的学生进行技术培训，开发纳米电子学本科课程，向未来的学生和公众推广纳米科学和技术。该项目将研究新型导线的电子特性，即所谓的单壁纳米管(SWNT)，这种导线非常小，需要并排铺设才能跨越一角硬币。在如此微小的导线中，电子基本上只能朝着一个方向流动，只有一维。在普通电线中，电子实际上向三个方向移动，而在电池端子之间沿单一方向漂移。单壁碳纳米管是自组织的，并生长在表面上，这样它们的电子性质就可以用于实验研究。理解和操纵这些微小结构的电子态可能会促进纳米技术的技术进步，并提供对相关电子系统奇特性质的基本理解。在物理学、材料科学和纳米技术的交叉点上发展起来的尖端实验技术应该为下一代电子设备或生物传感器提供基础。该项目将研究和教育结合在一起--对进行实验的学生进行技术培训，制定纳米电子学本科课程，以及向未来的学生和普通公众宣传纳米科学和技术。

This project uses atomic-scale engineering to produces materials for the study of one-dimensional electronic states. Because of their simplicity and uniformity, carbon nanotubes and related nanoscopic peapod structures offer unique advantages for controlled experiments. Other one-dimensional structures are based on atomic wires fabricated by self-assembly of atomic adsorbates or by direct manipulation of single atoms on a surface. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) will be used to directly visualize, and locally characterize and modify matter on the scale of single atoms and molecules. The electronic states will be studied in order to address issues relevant to the development of molecular and atomic-scale electronic devices. The detailed structural and transport studies will help develop more accurate theoretical models needed to understand the general problem of correlation among electrons in complex coupled systems. The project combines technologically relevant research in nanoscale science with investigations of fundamental problems at the forefront of condensed matter physics. Until the basic electronic properties of nanostructures can be reproducibly measured and understood, applications will not be realized for molecule-based electronic, biological, or chemical devices. The project integrates research and education-in the technical training of students who carry out the experiments, in the development of a undergraduate curricula in nanoelectronics, and in outreach presentations of nanoscience and technology to future students and the general public.The project will investigate the electronic properties of novel wires, so-called single-walled-nanotubes (SWNTs), that are so small that it would take 40,000,000 laying side-by-side to span a dime. In such tiny wires, the electrons are forced to flow in essentially one direction, in one-dimension only. In ordinary wires, electrons actually move in three directions, while drifting in a single direction between battery terminals. The SWNTs are be self-organized and grown on surfaces so that their electronic properties are accessible for experimental studies. Understanding and manipulating the electronic states of these tiny structures may enable technological advances in nanotechnology and provide fundamental understanding of the exotic nature of correlated electron systems. Cutting-edge experimental techniques developed at the intersection of physics, materials science, and nanotechnology should provide the building blocks for future generations of electronic devices or biosensors. The project integrates research and education-in the technical training of students who carry out the experiments, in the development of a undergraduate curricula in nanoelectronics, and in outreach presentations of nanoscience and technology to future students and the general public.