****TECHNICAL ABSTRACT**** This project will apply atomic and molecular manipulation to the nanoscale assembly of novel quantum materials - materials whose structural and electronic properties are dominated by quantum mechanics and give rise to either novel behavior or promising technologies. The primary experimental apparatus for these investigations are custom-built low-temperature scanning probe microscopes capable of both studying and controlling matter at atomic length scales. The overall project targets synthetic nanomaterials that can be used as model systems for understanding complex physics in natural materials. The project targets exquisite control of two quantum variables, the amplitude and phase of an electron wavefunction, to address new states formed by electrons that are playing increasingly vital roles in modern science and technology. Since these investigations require specialized apparatus not available from commercial sources, undergraduate and graduate students working directly on these projects will maintain their own equipment and perform state-of-the-art experiments. The research involves programs designed to train the next generation of high-school science teachers, courses at the undergraduate level into which current research in nanoscale science and technology is interwoven, and the active promotion of nanoscience education via visual and audio tools targeting students and the general public.
The ways in which electrons move through different types of materials provide the foundations for nearly all modern electronic technology. For example, the electron flow through the semiconductor silicon can be turned on or off, or modulated like a valve, and these behaviors are the basis behind transistors, computer processors, and communication signal amplifiers. To maintain continued progress in electronics technology, the underlying components and materials must be continuously scaled down in size. However this progress is now stymied by the fact that critical dimensions are approaching "quantum" sizes where the position of even a single stray atom or molecule plays a measurable role in performance, and the flow of electrons is impeded by atom-size impurities and even by the their own tiny weight. New materials hold the key to circumventing many of these problems, but new materials are often difficult to understand and therefore apply, due to their complex nature. This project will synthesize new electronic materials using one of the most advanced laboratory technologies available-the controlled manipulation of single atoms and molecules to build up entirely new materials that can guide electrons in ways not possible with existing materials. These new materials will be built one atom at a time as a means to test new fundamental physics which can be applied to electronic technologies, such as making electrons move as if they have no weight, and making electron avoid impurities so that their flow through electronic devices is unimpeded. In the process of conducting the calculations and experiments needed by this project, a Ph.D. student will receive education and training in the critical fields of nanotechnology and nanomaterials, and undergraduate students will receive exposure to state-of-the-art research.
