Microscopy of Hierarchical 2-D Interface Structures

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****Technical Abstract****The purpose of this project is to fabricate low-dimensional interface structures that enable the creation of new types of matter and the observation of new nanoscale phenomena. Such phenomena include interactions between atoms, molecules, and nanocrystals in low-dimensional environments defined by the interfaces between 2D layers of graphene and boron nitride (BN). This program will employ newly developed techniques for manipulating single layers of graphene and BN in order to fabricate low dimensional interface structures and to characterize them using scanning tunneling microscopy and transmission electron microscopy techniques. Interface structures will be decorated with a combination of atoms, molecules, and nanocrystal elements deposited via vacuum deposition and solvent-based spin-coating techniques. These structures will allow the exploration of completely new transmembrane chemical bonding and tunable electromagnetic behavior at the nanoscale. Graduate students, undergraduates, and postdoctoral researchers will be engaged at every level of this research, and will obtain training in state-of-the-art nanofabrication and microscopy techniques. High school students will be offered internships in this program to promote recruitment into the sciences.****Non-Technical Abstract****This project is aimed at characterizing new types of microscopic structures made by trapping atoms and nanometer-sized particles between two-dimensional layers of graphene and boron nitride (BN). Because the graphene and BN layers can be made only one-atom-thick, particles on either side of these membranes will interact strongly with one another, thus changing their overall properties in ways that have not been previously observed. Particles trapped at the interfaces between such membranes will be visible to different types of high-resolution electron microscopy, allowing their detailed behavior to be measured. This will allow the creation of new types of two-dimensional materials whose properties can be tuned into useful regimes that have never before been accessible (including, for example, their optical, electronic, and magnetic behavior). Such materials are expected to be useful in future electronic devices and also for creating new surface coatings with highly desirable properties. Graduate students, undergraduates, and postdoctoral researchers will be engaged at every level of this research, and will obtain training in state-of-the-art nanostructure fabrication and microscopy techniques. High school students will be offered internships in this program to promote recruitment into the sciences.