Structure and Properties Relationships in Nanoscale Materials

本提案描述了一个雄心勃勃的研究计划，涉及对纳米材料的性质、化学键、原子结构和电子结构之间关系的理解。计划的研究项目旨在了解掺杂原子对复杂材料性能的作用及其对原子水平电子结构的影响，界面的详细原子结构，由于界面性质引起的局部应变引起的结构和性能的变化及其对材料相稳定性的作用。这项工作将通过详细研究基于高温超导体和用于成像、传感器和探测器的半导体材料的复杂氧化物薄膜来证明。该项目的第二个组成部分旨在探索利用材料中电子气体共振耦合的新型混合材料架构，从而使这一仍然是基础的领域得到更广泛的应用，并发现自然界中不存在的人工材料。***该研究将广泛使用加拿大电子显微镜中心的一套仪器，该中心是由PI开发的世界级设施，其中包括两台世界上最先进的透射电子显微镜，可进行亚埃成像和光谱。这些仪器将以前所未有的空间分辨率和光谱灵敏度提供有关键合（通过光谱）和材料结构（通过成像和建模）的新信息。利用一种独特的原位激光与显微镜耦合，将材料暴露在显微镜内，允许研究光子与材料电子的相互作用，并利用显微镜的电子束探测基本现象。***这项研究将使开发新材料成为可能，这些新材料可用于生物医学成像、量子计算机、生物分子传感器和诊断工具、有毒分子和爆炸物探测器，以及结合光和电子的数据传输，这将导致新的计算机技术，最终点燃加拿大的新产业。******申请人（一级CRC， 2016年更新）的质量和影响力通过持续的国际认可得到证明，包括在国际会议上的多次邀请演讲，关键参考文献（百科全书，书籍，评论）中的几个书籍章节以及他的学生获得的奖项。一些过去的HQP已经转移到学术界，政府研究实验室和工业岗位。在5年的时间里，该项目将支持至少6名博士生和2名博士后，并大量使用先进的仪器，这些仪器是加拿大最好的，但维护服务合同的费用非常昂贵，目前与世界上最好的仪器相竞争。

This proposal describes an ambitious research program related to the understanding of the relationship between properties, chemical bonding, atomic structure and electronic structure in nanoscale materials. The planned research program aims to understand the role of dopant atoms on complex materials properties and their effect on the electronic structure down to the atomic level, the detailed atomic structure of interfaces, the changes in structure and properties induced by local strain due to the nature of interfaces and their role on the phase stability of materials. This work will be demonstrated through detailed investigations of complex oxides thin films based on high-temperature superconductors and semiconducting materials used for imaging, sensors and detectors. A second component of the program aims to explore new hybrid material architectures exploiting the coupling of resonances of the electron gas in materials, leading to broader application of this still-fundamental field and to the discovery of artificial materials that do not exist in nature. ***The research will make extensive use of a suite of instruments at the Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy, a world-class facility developed by the PI, that includes two of the most advanced transmission electron microscopes in the world allowing sub-Angstrom imaging and spectroscopy. These instruments will provide new information on bonding (via spectroscopy) and structure of materials (via imaging and modeling) at an unprecedented spatial resolution and spectroscopic sensitivity. Using a unique in-situ laser coupled to the microscope, exposure of materials inside the microscope will be carried out allowing the investigation of the interaction of photons with electrons of materials and to probe fundamental phenomena using the electron beam of the microscope. ***This research will make it possible to develop new materials that can be used for biomedical imaging, for quantum computers, for biomolecular sensors and diagnostic tools, for detectors of toxic molecules and explosives, and for data transfer combining light and electrons that will lead to new computer technologies and ultimately ignite new industries in Canada. ******The quality and impact of the applicant (a Tier I CRC who had this status renewed in 2016) is demonstrated by sustained international recognition with numerous invited talks at international conferences, several book chapters in key references (encyclopedias, books, reviews) and awards won by his students. Several past HQP have moved on to positions in Academia, Government Research labs and Industry. Over the 5 years, this program will support a minimum of 6 PhD students and 2 Postdoctoral fellows and the significant use of advanced instrumentation, the very best in Canada but very expensive to maintain with service contracts, currently competitive with the very best in the world.