CAREER: Controlled Assembly and Transport in Nanocrystal Structures

这是一项教师早期职业发展(CALEAR)奖，研究纳米晶体组装成电子器件的机制和电子设备中电荷传输的基本机制。研究将集中在库仑相互作用、电子隧穿和电荷涨落的影响上。要研究的模型系统包括一维和二维阵列中的纳米晶体的明确配置。将使用一系列工具来研究这些系统，如低噪声电测量、电荷成像和原子力显微镜。该项目将为博士后研究人员、研究生和本科生提供纳米结构设备制造和测量方面的出色培训。作为拟议研究的一部分，高中生将在暑期参与，并将协助研究生进行拟议的实验。随着电子电路尺寸的缩小，电子工业将很快达到纳米级，其中量子效应主导着电子传输。在这些小尺度上，当电子被限制在小区域时，由于电子电荷和自旋被量子化的事实，有趣的新效应出现了。拟议的研究将集中在纳米晶体的测量上。纳米晶体是纳米级的晶体，既具有原子的性质，又具有大晶体的性质，已经导致了从电子到生物和医学的新应用。这项拟议的工作将开发可控纳米晶体组装成电子器件的方法，并将研究电子通过纳米晶体结构传输的基本机制。该课程是本科生和研究生学习器件制造和电气测量的绝佳机会。此外，女性PI将参与一系列外联活动，例如与费城当地学校的高中外联活动，以及宾夕法尼亚大学的妇女对研究物理感兴趣的小组。

This is a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, which investigates the mechanisms of nanocrystal assembly into electronic devices and the basic mechanisms of charge transport in them. The research will focus on the effects of Coulomb interactions, electron tunneling, and charge fluctuations. The model systems to be studied include well-defined configurations of nanocrystals in one and two-dimensional arrays. A range of tools will be used to study these systems, such as low-noise electrical measurements, charge imaging, and atomic-force microscopy. The project will provide excellent training for postdoctoral researchers, graduate and undergraduate students in device fabrication and measurements of nanostructures. As part of the proposed research, high-school students will be involved during the summer and will assist graduate students in the proposed experiments. As the electronic circuits are shrinking in size, the electronic industry will soon reach the nanometer size scales, where quantum effects dominate the electronic transport. At these small scales when electrons are confined into small regions, interesting new effects occur due to the fact that electronic charges and spins are quantized. The proposed research will focus on measurements of nanocrystals. Nanocrystals are nanometer-scale crystals that exhibit properties of both atoms and large crystals, and are already leading to new applications from electronics to biology and medicine. The proposed work will develop ways for controlled nanocrystal assembly into electronic devices, and will investigate the basic mechanisms of electronic transport through nanocrystal structures. This program is an excellent opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to learn about device fabrication and electrical measurements. In addition, the female PI will be involved in a range of outreach activities, such as high-school outreach with the local Philadelphia schools, and the Women Interested in Studying Physics (WISP) group at the University of Pennsylvania.