RUI: Ultrafast Acoustics and Heat Transport in Nanostructures, Thin Films, and Crystals

*技术摘要*该NSF奖将支持位于纽约州波基普西的瓦萨学院的实验凝聚态物理研究，这是一所本科院校。这个项目将寻求回答与技术相关的基础材料研究问题。超快光学技术将用于研究薄膜、晶体和纳米结构的热和声现象。特别是，该项目将包括由硅、非晶氢化薄膜(a-Si：H和a-SiC：H)和大块晶体(GaN、GaN、SiC和AlN)制成的新型声子带隙结构的研究。预计该项目将有助于回答关于长波声子对热传输的贡献以及非晶态和晶体结构中的声子衰减机制等长期存在的问题。该项目的成果将对包括微电子、太阳能电池和热电设备在内的许多技术产生影响。NSF奖将支持美国一流文理学院的本科生研究。6名暑期研究学生将在为期三年的项目中获得资助，许多其他学生将受益于通过该奖项提供的实验室设备的扩展。*非技术摘要*该NSF奖项将支持纽约波基普西的瓦萨学院的实验材料物理研究，该学院是一所本科院校。该项目将寻求回答与半导体和纳米技术领域有关的基本问题。超快激光(产生的脉冲持续时间不到百万分之一秒)将被用作研究由硅和其他重要技术材料制成的新型纳米结构中的热和超声波的工具。更好地了解热和超声波在这些材料中传输能量的方式将有助于微电子、太阳能和热电等领域正在进行的研究。NSF奖将支持美国一流文理学院的本科生研究。6名暑期研究学生将在为期三年的项目中获得资助，许多其他学生将受益于通过该奖项提供的实验室设备的扩展。

****Technical Abstract****This NSF award will support experimental condensed matter physics research at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, an undergraduate institution. This project will seek to answer fundamental materials research questions that are also of technological relevance. Ultrafast optical techniques will be used to study thermal and acoustic phenomena thin films, crystals, and nanostructures. In particular, the project will include studies of novel phononic bandgap structures made from silicon, amorphous hydrogenated films (a-Si:H and a-SiC:H), and bulk crystals (GaAs, GaN, SiC, and AlN). The project is expected to contribute answers to long-standing questions regarding the contributions of long-wavelength phonons to thermal transport and phonon attenuation mechanisms in amorphous and crystalline structures. The results contributed by this project will have an impact on a number of technologies including microelectronics, solar cells, and thermoelectric devices. The NSF award will support undergraduate student research at one of the nation's premier liberal arts colleges. 6 summer research students will be funded during the three-year project and many other students will benefit from the expansion of laboratory equipment provided through the award.****Non-Technical Abstract****This NSF award will support experimental materials physics research at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, an undergraduate institution. This project will seek to answer fundamental questions that are of technological relevance to the semiconductor and nanotech fields. Ultrafast lasers (which produce pulses less than a millionth of a millionth of a second in duration) will be used as a tool to study heat and ultrasound in novel, nanoscale structures made from silicon and other technologically important materials. A better understanding of the way heat and ultrasound transport energy in these materials will benefit ongoing research in a number of fields including microelectronics, solar energy, and thermoelectrics. The NSF award will support undergraduate student research at one of the nation's premier liberal arts colleges. 6 summer research students will be funded during the three-year project and many other students will benefit from the expansion of laboratory equipment provided through the award.