Presidential Young Investigator Award

吸附在固体衬底上的薄膜经常表现出与大块材料所表现出的特性截然不同的特性。随着这种二维薄膜变厚，它们最终必须表现出三维行为。目前的研究主要集中在薄膜生长过程中从二维到三维行为演变的各个方面：利用表征良好的衬底上的稀有气体薄膜模型系统，解决了薄膜生长的两个基本问题：(1)给定已知的底物和已知的吸附物，人们能否仅根据原子原理预测将发生的生长模式？(2)如何改变特定的薄膜衬底组合以获得所需的薄膜生长方式？这里的总体目标是减少我们对表征和预测薄膜生长模式的经验方法的依赖，并弥合“理想”和“真实”表面之间的差距。其他研究兴趣包括研究薄膜表面熔化特性和润湿行为之间的关系，以及通过弹道聚集制备金属衬底，允许对分形和/或空隙网络进行吸附研究。

Thin films adsorbed on solid substrates frequently exhibit properties which are quite distinct from those exhibited by the bulk material. As such two-dimensional films thicken, they must eventually exhibit three-dimensional behavior. Current research is focused on various aspects of this evolution from two- dimensional to three dimensional behavior as a film grows: Employing model systems of rare-gas films on well characterized substrates, two fundamental issues of film growth are addressed: (1) Given a known substrate and a known adsorbate, can one, based on atomistic principles alone, predict the mode of growth which will occur? (2) How can one alter a particular film substrate combination so as to obtain a desired mode of film growth? The overall goal here is to decrease our reliance on empirical approaches to the characterization and prediction of film growth modes and to bridge the gap between "ideal" and "real" surfaces. Other research interests include studies of the relationship between film surface melting characteristics and wetting behavior, and the preparation of metal substrates by ballistic aggregation allowing adsorption studies on fractal and/or void networks.