Nanoscale and Collective Physics of One-Dimensional Conductors

****非技术摘要****电荷密度波（CDW）导体是迄今发现的最显著的电子材料之一。它们表现出集体电荷输运、非线性电子传导、相干电压振荡、低温玻璃相和巨大的介电常数。它们为研究无序弹性介质的静态和动态特性提供了一个近乎理想的模型实验系统，在简单的机械振荡和完全发展的复杂湍流之间提供了一个易于处理的中转站。这个个人研究项目将探索微制造CDW器件的电子特性和可能的应用，以及这些器件的复杂动态响应。该项目是一个更广泛的项目的一部分，该项目已经产生了几项专利申请和一项在世界各地使用的商业产品，并为研究生从事研究和开发工作提供了良好的培训。补充活动正试图解决STEM管道中的主要问题。这些措施包括开发面向不同受众的物理教学方法和课程，开发高中和大学物理课程招收和留住学生的方法和材料，以及在物理技术委员会的支持下，招聘和培训更多的高中物理教师。****技术摘要****通过滑动电荷（或自旋）密度波（CDW）表现出集体电荷输运的准一维导体是凝聚态物理中最丰富的系统之一。该项目将结合材料合成、微加工和传输测量来解决两大类问题。第一堂课涉及准一维导体的中观和纳米尺度物理以及包含它们的器件。电荷注入、纳米线和亚稳态的物理实验在存储器件中有潜在的应用，这些实验都是由上一个资助期开发的制造工艺实现的。第二类涉及无序CDW的集体固定和动力学，随着用于解释其他无序弹性物体的理论方法被用于解决CDW系统的全部丰富性，这一焦点重新引起了人们的兴趣。该项目是一个更广泛的项目的一部分，该项目已经产生了几项专利申请和一项在世界各地使用的商业产品，并为研究生从事研究和开发工作提供了良好的培训。

****NON-TECHNICAL ABSTRACT****Charge-density-wave (CDW) conductors are among the most remarkable electronic materials ever discovered. They exhibit collective charge transport, nonlinear electronic conduction, coherent voltage oscillations, a low-temperature glass phase and gigantic dielectric constants. They provide a nearly ideal model experimental system for studying the static and dynamic properties of disordered elastic media, providing a tractable way station between simple mechanical oscillators and the complexity of fully developed turbulence. This individual investigator project will explore the electronic properties and possible applications of microfabricated CDW devices, and the complex dynamical response of these devices. The project is part of a broader program that has yielded several patent applications and a commercial product used around the world, and that provides excellent training to graduate students for careers in research and development. Complimentary activities are attempting to address major problems in the STEM pipeline. These include developing methods and curricula for teaching physics to diverse audiences, developing methods and materials for recruiting and retaining students in high school and college physics and, with PhysTEC support, recruiting and training more high school physics teachers.****TECHNICAL ABSTRACT****Quasi-one-dimensional conductors exhibiting collective charge transport by sliding charge (or spin) density waves (CDW) are among the richest systems in condensed matter physics. This project will address two broad classes of problems using a combination of materials synthesis, microfabrication and transport measurements. The first class involves the meso- and nano-scale physics of quasi-one-dimensional conductors and devices that incorporate them. Experiments on the physics of charge injection, of nanowires and of metastability with potential applications in memory devices are enabled by fabrication processes developed in the previous funding period. The second class addresses the collective pinning and dynamics of the disordered CDW, a focus of renewed interest as theoretical methods developed to explain other disordered elastic objects are being used to address the full richness of CDW systems. The project is part of a broader program that has yielded several patent applications and a commercial product used around the world, and that provides excellent training to graduate students for careers in research and development.