Photo-Stimulated Nanopattern Formation on Polarity Patterned Ferroelectric Surfaces

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Technical. The goal of this research is to reach greater understanding of photo excitation of po-larity patterned ferroelectric surfaces and to devise approaches for nanopattern formation. Prior research established that photo excitation of a polarity patterned lithium niobate surface while immersed in an aqueous silver nitrate solution leads to the formation of silver nanowire struc-tures that form along domain boundaries of up and down polarity domains on lithium niobate. Since the nanowires form at the polarity boundaries, their width and thickness appear to not be limited by lithography or the domain pattern, but by the physics and chemistry of photo-chemical phenomena. Since precise polarity patterns can be readily configured in ferroelectric materials, metallic nanostructures can be formed into unique patterns that extend over hundreds of microns or even millimeters with nanometer scale precision. This project aims for a comprehensive un-derstanding and a basis for the photo-excited deposition of precise nanopatterns on polarity pat-terned ferroelectric surfaces. The research involves experimental approaches for nanoscale char-acterization of ferroelectric materials, approaches to prepare clean, passivated, and characterized surfaces with controlled screening, processes for improved photo-stimulated deposition, and the development of substrates for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Non-Technical. The project addresses fundamental research issues in a topical area of elec-tronic/photonic materials science having technological relevance. There is potential that the re-search could substantially impact the development of electronic devices and sensors. Graduate and undergraduate students involved with this research will gain expertise relevant to careers in the electronics field. A new initiative of the ASU Department of Physics is the development of a Professional Science Masters in Nanoscience (PSM-Nano). This project contributes to the pro-gram in two ways: 1) The development of a research project that will pair one or two of the PSM-Nano candidates with one of the graduate students in this project, and 2) the development of two seminars for the group. The PI has been successful in involving undergraduates in re-search and in recruiting and mentoring women and minority students through their graduate de-gree.