Domain Wall Engineering for Novel Nanoelectronics

非技术描述：该项目为开发用于信息技术的新型电子设备提供了科学依据。该项目利用各种显微技术来研究结构边界的原子结构和电学特性之间的关系，这些结构边界将具有不同电极化(域)取向的区域分开。这项研究的主要目标是实现新型材料，其电学性能由电畴边界而不是电畴本身决定，并在新型计算机存储器件中具有潜在的应用。该项目非常重视材料科学、纳米结构制造和显微表征。该项目为本科生和研究生提供了新的培训机会，以及针对K-12学生、教师、少数民族和代表不足的群体的各种外展活动。技术描述：铁性材料中的磁区边界，以及各种有序参数的作用，提供了利用不同于块状材料的状态变量的概念上的新器件的可能性。域壁在逐步缩小的器件中的作用越来越大，这就需要开发新的方法来主动控制域壁行为并对其性质进行彻底的调查。本项目的重点是通过正确结合制造、高分辨率结构表征和电学测试方法，在基本水平上研究域壁的功能和结构特性之间的相互作用，以及它们随后在新型电子器件中的应用。该项目包括：(1)制备单晶铁电介观片层和薄膜的横截面样品；(2)利用扫描探针显微镜(SPM)技术对磁区壁进行可控操纵并测试其输运特性；(3)高分辨率电子显微镜对磁区壁的结构表征。这项研究有助于基于磁区墙的新型纳米电子器件的技术开发，并为在不同文化环境中先进纳米技术领域的研究生和年轻研究人员提供教育和研究培训的可能性。

Non-technical Description: This project provides a scientific basis for the development of novel electronic devices for information technology. The project utilizes a variety of microscopy techniques to investigate the relation between the atomic structure and electrical characteristics of the structural boundaries that separate regions with different orientations of electrical polarization (domains). The main goal of this study is to realize new type of materials with electrical properties determined by the domain boundaries, rather than the domains themselves, and potential applications in new types of computer memory devices. The project puts a strong emphasis on materials science, nanostructure fabrication and microscopy characterization. This project offers new training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, along with various outreach activities targeting K-12 students, teachers, minorities and underrepresented groups.Technical Description: Domain boundaries in ferroic materials, with various order parameters at play, offer a possibility of conceptually novel devices utilizing state variables different from those of the bulk materials. The growing role of domain walls in progressively shrinking devices necessitates the development of new approaches for active control of domain wall behavior and thorough investigation of their properties. This project focuses on investigation of the interplay between the functional and structural properties of the domain walls at a fundamental level and their subsequent use in novel electronic devices through the right combination of fabrication, high-resolution structural characterization and electrical testing methods. This project involves: (1) fabrication of free-standing single-crystalline ferroelectric mesoscale lamellae and cross-sectional samples of thin films, (2) controlled manipulation of the domain walls and testing of their transport properties by means of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) techniques, and (3) high-resolution electron microscopy structural characterization of domain walls. This research contributes to the technological development of novel nanoelectronic devices based on the domain walls and provides education and research training possibilities for graduate students and young researchers in advanced areas of nanotechnology in culturally diverse environment.