Nanoscale physics

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My research program is directed at obtaining a fundamental understanding of the physics of nanostructures, systems with dimensions in the range from about a nanometer to a few hundred nanometers. Nanostructures have properties that differ from those of individual atoms and from those of macroscopic everyday objects. Their importance for applications ranging from information processing to medicine is widely recognized. The research proposed here will have a number of foci: We will develop theories of the conduction of electric charge and spin through single-molecule magnets that may find applications as extremely high density magnetic memories or in quantum information processing. Experiments have begun recently inserting individual molecules of this kind into electric circuits and our proposed research is aimed at understanding the behavior of such systems theoretically at a fundamental level. We will also continue our theoretical studies of electrical conduction through nanoscale protein fragments contacted with metal electrodes in aqueous electrolytes. This theoretical work will explore how different kinds of protein fragments conduct electric current when subjected to electrochemical gating and the effect on this of interactions between electrons and molecular vibrations. This fundamental research may eventually lead to the realization of practical protein-based bio-nanoelectronic devices. We will also develop theories of quantum transport in other molecular electronic systems. We will also develop theories of electrical conduction through graphene nanoribbons, i.e., ribbons of carbon atoms several nanometers wide and a single atomic layer thick. We will focus on how their quantum transport properties are affected by adsorbed chemical species and other defects, and by many body effects arising from electron-electron interactions. The properties of such graphene nanostructures are at present of great fundamental interest and improved understanding may lead to practical applications. Thus all of the proposed research is expected to achieve a better theoretical understanding of novel nanoscale systems and may facilitate the creation of new technologies with potential to benefit Canada.