Electron-Phonon Interaction and Disorder: Nanoscale Interference in Transport Phenomena

该奖项由2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公共法律111-5)资助。技术总结该奖项支持理论研究和教育，重点关注低维导体、纳米材料和强相关材料(如掺杂Mott介质，例如新型超导体和导电聚合物)中的电子-声子动力学以及电、热和热磁传输。振动边界、缺陷或掺杂物会产生另一种电子-声子相互作用通道，这会干扰通常的电子-声子和弹性电子散射。散射机制的干扰极大地改变了动力学和输运现象。干扰效应可能很强，而且很容易观察到。虽然干扰的影响已经知道了一段时间，但这一领域的研究还很有限。PI将研究电子-声子动力学以及低维结构中的电、热和磁输运，如异质结构、超薄膜、多壁碳纳米管、纳米线、金属团簇和量子点阵列。在低维情况下，由于较小的电子动量转移以及与集体激发相关的动量转移的内在特性，干涉效应有望得到强烈的增强。PI将研究特定材料中的电子-声子干涉效应，如石墨烯和各种掺杂的莫特电介质。这项研究的目的是促进对动力学和输运中散射机制的量子干涉的关键见解的发展，并将有助于显著改进与量子输运方程和费曼-凯尔德什图解技术相关的理论技术。这一研究计划有助于开发有效的方法来管理电子-声子传输和能量传输，这反过来将对先进纳米设备和材料的发展产生重大影响。一些令人费解的实验结果将在这个项目开发的框架中找到它们的解释。该项目将通过其对教育的贡献以及通过开发能够对材料科学和工程产生影响的理论模型来产生更广泛的影响。纳米级的热管理将对电子工业的几乎所有分支产生重大影响。这项研究将对纳米器件的发展产生直接影响，在纳米器件中，能量转移是？量身定制的？适用于特定应用，例如在中低温下工作的超灵敏纳米量能器和单量子纳米探测器。对于研究生和本科生，PI将为小学生和高中生开发一套专门的实验。这些演示与现代电子和纳米技术直接相关。PI将通过Java小应用程序整合信息技术；他们正在扩展这些小应用程序，以整合纳米世界的能量转移。他们还在为布法罗科学博物馆的物理世界科学工作室开发一个互动展览，这将有助于向更广泛的公众推广纳米技术。讲座和演示将在适合普通公众的水平上进行。非技术总结该奖项支持旨在阐明控制热和电如何在材料、结构和设备中流动的微观机制的理论研究，这些材料、结构和设备的直径比人类头发的直径小数千倍。PI将开发一种关于电子水平、原子尺度的表面和缺陷，以及当它们流经这些微小结构时遇到的振动的理论。该项目将有助于在预期未来半导体器件电路特征尺寸的小长度范围内管理散热的智能基础。高速电子设备产生的热量隐约可见，成为摩尔？S定律所称的不断变小的电子设备趋势的障碍之一。这项研究也将有助于小规模探测器技术的智力基础。对于研究生和本科生，PI将为中小学生开发一套专门的实验。这些演示与现代电子和纳米技术直接相关。PI将通过Java小应用程序整合信息技术；他们正在扩展这些小应用程序，以整合纳米世界的能量转移。他们还在为布法罗科学博物馆的物理世界科学工作室开发一个互动展览，这将有助于向更广泛的公众推广纳米技术。讲座和示范将在适合普通公众的水平上进行。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis award supports theoretical research and education focused on electron-phonon kinetics and electric, thermal, and thermomagnetic transport in low-dimensional conductors, nanomaterials, and strongly correlated materials such as doped Mott dielectrics, e.g. novel superconductors and conducting polymers. Vibrating boundaries, defects, or dopants generates another channel of electron-phonon interaction, which interferes with the usual electron-phonon and elastic electron scattering. The interference of scattering mechanisms drastically modifies kinetic and transport phenomena. The interference effects can be strong and easily observable. While effects of interference have been known for some time, the research in this field is limited. The PIs will investigate electron-phonon kinetics and electric, thermal, and themomagnetic transport in low-dimensional structures, such as heterostructures, ultrathin films, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, nanowires, metallic clusters, and quantum dot arrays. In low dimensions, strong enhancement of interference effects is expected due to a smaller electron momentum transfer and due to intrinsic peculiarities in the momentum transfer related to the collective excitations. The PIs will investigate electron-phonon interference effects in specific materials, such as graphene and various doped Mott dielectrics.The research is aimed to contribute to the development of critical insights into the quantum interference of scattering mechanisms in kinetics and transport and will contribute to significantly improved theoretical techniques, related to the quantum transport equation and Feynman-Keldysh diagrammatic techniques. This research program contributes to developing effective ways to manage electron-phonon transport and energy transfer which will, in turn, strongly impact the development of advanced nanodevices and materials. A number of puzzling experimental results will find their explanation in the framework developed by this program.The project will have broader impacts through its contributions to education, and by developing theoretical models that can have impact in materials science and engineering. Nanoscale thermal management will substantially affect practically all branches of the electronics industry. This research will have immediate impact on the development of nanodevices in which energy transfer is ?tailored? to specific applications, e.g. ultrasensitive nanocalorimeters and single quanta nanodetectors operating at low and moderate temperatures. With graduate and undergraduate students, the PIs will develop a set of specialized experiments for elementary and high school students. These demonstrations are directly related to modern electronics and nanotechnology. The PIs will incorporate information technologies via Java Applets; they are extending these applets to incorporate the nanoworld energy transfer. They are also developing an interactive exhibit for the Physical World Science Studio of the Buffalo Museum of Science that will help to promote nanotechnology to a broader public. Lectures and demonstrations will be developed at a level appropriate for the general public.NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis award supports theoretical research aimed to elucidate the microscopic mechanisms that control how heat and electricity flow through materials structures and devices that are thousands of times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. The PIs will develop a theory on the level of electrons and the atomic-scale surfaces and defects, and vibrations that they encounter as they flow through these tiny structures. This project will contribute to the intellectual foundations for managing heat dissipation at small length scales anticipated for future circuit feature sizes of semiconductor devices. The heat generated by high speed electronic devices looms as one of the barriers to the continuing trend toward ever smaller electronic devices known as Moore?s law. This research will also contribute to the intellectual foundations of detector technologies on small length scales.With graduate and undergraduate students, the PIs will develop a set of specialized experiments for elementary and high school students. These demonstrations are directly related to modern electronics and nanotechnology. The PIs will incorporate information technologies via Java Applets; they are extending these applets to incorporate the nanoworld energy transfer. They are also developing an interactive exhibit for the Physical World Science Studio of the Buffalo Museum of Science that will help to promote nanotechnology to a broader public. Lectures and demonstrations will be developed at a level appropriate for the general public.