CAREER: The Science and Engineering of the Nonvolatile Superconducting Switch

这个职业项目解决了材料科学问题和非易失性超导开关的特性。超导体-绝缘体量子相变的性质将从基础科学的角度进行研究，包括纵向和横向输运性质的相关性，绝缘状态的温度依赖性的性质，以及驱动空穴局域化的无序效应和负责配对空穴并产生量子跃迁到超导体的相互作用效应之间的相互作用。长期目标包括应用扫描探针显微镜以非易失性、可逆的方式书写纳米级超导结构和器件，包括小型超导岛、导线和电子约瑟夫森结。超薄外延铁电超导体异质结构的研究将采用先进的薄膜沉积技术，如离轴射频磁控溅射。薄膜异质结构的结构和电子表征将使用原子力显微镜（AFM）、扫描隧道显微镜（STM）、反射高能电子衍射（RHEED）、x射线光电子能谱（XPS）、紫外光电子能谱（UPS）、纳米级压电显微镜和x射线衍射进行。测试开关速度的纳秒脉冲测量将进行，以及标准的电子传输测量，包括电阻率，霍尔效应和迁移率。这个综合研究和教育计划的主要重点包括薄膜沉积的本科生和研究生的教学和培训，薄膜沉积是材料研究和工程中广泛使用的技术。薄膜制造研究将由本科生和研究生进行，并将由PI开发和讲授物理气相沉积技术，如分子束外延和溅射。本课程包括与应用物理系、电子工程系和物理系的教师合作，旨在为薄膜材料的研究奠定广泛的基础。该项目涉及具有高技术相关性的材料科学主题领域的基础研究问题。这些研究的结果有望拓宽我们对相关氧化物材料的基本理解，并基于在这些材料中观察到的新型行为导致新的应用。该项目的范围将使学生接触到材料合成、加工、器件制造和表征方面的挑战。该项目的一个重要特点是非常重视教育，并将研究与教育相结合。＊＊＊

This CAREER project addresses materials science issues and properties of nonvolatile superconducting switches. The nature of the superconductor-insulator quantum phase transition will be studied from a basic science perspective, including the correlation of the longitudinal and transverse transport properties, the nature of the temperature dependence of the insulating state, and the interplay between disorder effects driving the localization of holes and interaction effects responsible for pairing holes and producing the quantum transition to a superconductor. Long-term goals include the application of scanning probe microscopy to write in a nonvolatile, reversible fashion nanoscale superconducting structures and devices, including small superconducting islands, wires, and electronic Josephson junctions. Ultrathin, epitaxial ferroelectric-superconductor heterostructures will be studied using advanced thin film deposition techniques such as off-axis radio frequency magnetron sputtering. Structural and electronic characterization of thin film heterostructures will be carried out using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), nanoscale piezoelectric microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. Nanosecond pulse measurements to test the switching speed will be carried out, along with standard electronic transport measurements including resistivity, Hall effect, and mobility. A primary focus of this integrated research and education program involves teaching and training of undergraduate and graduate students in thin film deposition, a broadly used technology in materials research and engineering. Thin film fabrication research will be carried out by undergraduate and graduate students, and an undergraduate class devoted to physical vapor deposition techniques such as molecular beam epitaxy and sputtering will be developed and taught by the PI. This program involves collaborations with faculty members in the Departments of Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, and Physics, and is designed to form a broad foundation in the study of thin film materials. %%% The project addresses fundamental research issues in a topical area of materials science having high technological relevance. Outcomes of these studies are expected to broaden our fundamental understanding of correlated oxide materials and lead to new applications based upon the novel types of behavior observed in these materials.The scope of the project will expose students to challenges in materials synthesis, processing, device fabrication, and characterization. An important feature of the project is the strong emphasis on education, and the integration of research and education. ***