CAREER: Single Functional Domain Wall Physics and Engineering with 1D Wall Waveguide

非技术描述：欺骗‘旧’材料来提供新的性能一直是材料科学和工程创新的传统。人们认识到，完全新的功能可以稳定在同一材料的两个不同区域之间的纳米厚的壁上。这些域壁可以被外部刺激写入、移动、加宽和擦除。因此，他们提供了一个令人兴奋的机会来研究新的低维物理，否则是无法获得的。它们还可以用作新技术中的活跃元素，利用墙的功能性、移动性和真正的纳米级厚度来实现更高的设备密度和更低的能源消耗。该项目通过了解和开发氧化物材料中铁性磁区壁的新物理和功能，探索磁区墙技术的科学基础。由于域壁在自然界中普遍存在，对其静态和动态特性的充分了解将对铁电、磁性、形状记忆合金甚至地震学等现有领域产生广泛的影响，从而造福于我们的社会。这项提议的教育目标是建立一个计划，扩大纳米科学在旧金山湾区的科学和社会影响。技术细节：未来的域壁技术可以通过存在于各种材料的域壁上的铁电、热电、光学、化学、磁性和结构功能来实现。目前，如何在不对期望的磁区功能产生不利影响的情况下操纵磁区磁区是未知的。利用局部注入的点缺陷和全局施加的应变作为控制刺激，PI将在一维“壁波导”中创建、成像、钉住、解放、移动和擦除单磁区壁。通过这样做，PI试图清除一些基本的障碍，以全面理解功能域壁的物理和工程原理：i)域壁的宽度和迁移率将被量身定做，ii)壁的功能将被调制和开发用于应用，iii)朗道理论将被参数化，发现将被推广，以及iv)壁上的原子尺度界面物理将被阐明。与研究工作相结合，PI有一个独特的教育计划，名为“Nano‘ed”，为学生在国家对学术界或工业高度感兴趣的领域的职业生涯做好准备。通过强调纳米科学与已有的物理、化学和数学学科的共同基础，PI正致力于以下工作：i)与附近的博物馆劳伦斯科学馆合作，为K-12学生创建一系列动手展览和实验；ii)与校园教育项目合作，为未被充分代表的高中生开发独特的“纳米材料科学与工程”暑期课程系列；以及iii)在旧金山湾区发起和领导纳米科学活动，与行业和政策制定者转移和交流知识，从而使基础科学研究的好处对整个社会更切实。

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Tricking 'old' materials to offer new properties has been a tradition in materials science and engineering innovations. It is recognized that completely new functionalities may be stabilized at the nanometer-thick wall between two different domains of the same material. These domain walls can be written, moved, broadened, and erased by external stimuli. Thus, they present an exciting opportunity to investigate new low-dimensional physics that is otherwise inaccessible. They can also be used as an active element in a new technology leveraging the functionality, mobility, and truly nanoscale thickness of the walls to achieve much higher device density and lower energy consumption. This project explores the scientific foundations of domain wall technology by understanding and exploiting novel physics and functionalities of ferroic domain walls in oxide materials. Since domain walls exist ubiquitously in nature, a full understanding of their static and dynamic properties benefits our society by broadly impacting existing fields such as ferroelectricity, magnetism, shape memory alloys, and even seismology. The educational objective of this proposal is to build a program to broaden the impact of nanoscience both scientifically and societal in the San Francisco Bay area. TECHNICAL DETAILS: Future domain-wall technology could be implemented through ferroelectric, thermoelectric, optical, chemical, magnetic and structural functionalities present at the domain walls of a wide variety of materials. At present how to manipulate the domain walls without adversely affecting the desired wall functionality is unknown. Using locally injected point defects and globally imposed strain as control stimuli, the PI will create, image, pin, liberate, move, and erase single domain walls in a one-dimensional "wall waveguide". By doing so, the PI seeks to clear some fundamental roadblocks toward a full understanding of the physics and engineering principles of functional domain walls: i) the domain wall width and mobility will be tailored, ii) the wall functionality will be modulated and exploited for applications, iii) the Landau theory will be parametrized, the discoveries will be generalized, and iv) atomic-scale interfacial physics at the wall will be elucidated. Integrated with the research efforts, the PI has a unique educational program, entitled "Nano'ed", to prepare students for careers in areas of high national interest in either academia or industry. By emphasizing the common fundamentals that nanoscience shares with established subjects of physics, chemistry and mathematics, the PI is working on the following: i) creating a series of hands-on exhibits and experiments for K-12 students in partnership with the nearby museum Lawrence Hall of Science; ii) partnering with a campus education program in developing a unique summer class series in "Nanoscale Materials Science and Engineering" for underrepresented high school students; and iii) initiating and leading nanoscience activities in the San Francisco Bay area to transfer and exchange knowledge with industry and policy-makers, thus making the benefits of fundamental science research more tangible for society in general.