Pablo Jarillo-Herrero

Assistant Professor of Physics
MIT

Background

Pablo Jarillo-Herrero joined MIT as an assistant professor of physics in January 2008. He received his M.Sc. in physics from the University of Valencia, Spain, in 1999. Then he spent two years at the University of California in San Diego, where he received a second M.Sc. degree before going to the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands, where he earned his Ph.D. in 2005. After a one-year postdoc in Delft, he moved to Columbia University, where he most recently worked as a NanoResearch Initiative Fellow.

Abstract

Nanotechnology in a pencil trace
A new revolution in science and technology is stemming from exploring materials and fabricating devices at ever smaller length scales. Among these materials, recently discovered carbon nanostructures are beginning to show just how different their properties are from standard materials. In this talk I will introduce you to the latest newcomer to the family of carbon nanomaterials: graphene. Graphene, a single sheet of graphite, is a one atom thick material where electrons propagate in a very intriguing way: their behaviour mimics that of ultrarelativistic particles, usually found only in large accelerators or in cosmic rays. Along with fascinating science, I will discuss the enormous potential of graphene in the areas of nanoelectronics, nanosensor and nanoelectromechanic devices.

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MIT Faculty Profile

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Michael S. Fuhrer

Associate Director
Maryland NanoCenter

Associate Professor
Department of Physics
University of Maryland

Background

Michael S. Fuhrer received his B.S. in Physics from the University of Texas at Austin in 1990. He received his Ph. D. in Physics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1998 after doing research on electronic and thermal transport in High-Tc and fullerene superconductors with Prof. Alex Zettl. Prof. Fuhrer remained at Berkeley as a postdoctoral researcher with Profs. Alex Zettl and Paul McEuen, working on electronic transport in carbon nanotube devices. Prof. Fuhrer joined the faculty at the University of Maryland as an Assistant Professor in 2000, promoted to Associate Professor in 2005. Prof. Fuhrer currently serves as Associate Director of the Maryland NanoCenter. Fuhrer’s research involves the physics of electronic devices constructed of nanoscale components, for example individual carbon nanotubes, novel two-dimensional electronic nanostructures, or individual organometallic molecules. Prof. Fuhrer studied the first carbon nanotube heterojunctions, demonstrated the first carbon-nanotube-based single-electron memory device, and showed that the room-temperature mobility in semiconducting carbon nanotubes is the highest of any semiconductor. He has published over 40 papers in technical journals, and presented his research in more than 50 invited talks.

Abstract

Why Carbon is Special: An Introduction to Graphene
Graphene, a single-atom-thick sheet of graphite, has recently been synthesized in the laboratory. From the standpoint of basic science, graphene shows exciting new properties: electrons in graphene behave as if they have zero mass, which leads to a number of exotic properties. From a technological standpoint, graphene has excellent materials properties: it has extremely high electrical and thermal conductivity, is exceedingly stiff and tough, and can be synthesized epitaxially on metal and semiconductor surfaces. Here, I will first discuss the unique electronic structure of graphene, and its implications for electronic properties. I will then discuss experiments to determine the intrinsic and extrinsic limits of the charge carrier mobility in graphene, which point out both the extraordinary promise of this new material as well as the technological challenges that lie ahead in realizing better graphene electronic samples. I will conclude by outlining the exciting new opportunities in interdisciplinary science enabled by graphene at the confluence of semiconductor physics, nanoelectronics, surface science, and scanning probe technology.

Links

NanoCenter Faculty Profile

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Walter A. de Heer

Professor
School of Physics
Georgia Institute of Technology

Background

De Heer has been involved in pioneering nanosience for 25 years. His publications in nanoscience have been cited over 8000 times. De Heer received his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley in 1985. There he investigated the properties of alkali clusters in molecular beams, resulting in the discovery of the electronic shell structure and plasma resonances. He moved to Lausanne Switzerland in 1987 where he worked at the Ecole Polytechnique until 1996. While there he studied the magnetic properties of free transition metal clusters. In 1992 he started his investigations of arc-produced multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Investigations of nanotube films cumulated in the discovery of their field emission properties, which may someday be applied in flat panel displays. De Heer moved to Georgia Tech in 1996, where he continued work on carbon nanotubes leading to the discovery of room temperature ballistic conduction in carbon nanotubes in 1998. This property is important for carbon based nanoelectronics. He developed a electron-microscopy based resonance method to measure elastic properties of nanotubes in 1999, which allowed extremely small objects to be weighed. In 2005 he found the mechanism by which nanotubes are formed from liquid carbon in carbon arcs. Currently he is working on carbon nanotubes, ultrathin patterned graphite films and the electronic and magnetic properties of cold metal clusters in molecular beams.

Abstract

Epitaxial Graphene for Nanoelectronics
Graphene multilayers grown on single crystal silicon carbide have remarkable properties that indicate their microelectronics potential. Unlike exfoliated graphene, epitaxial graphene is grown on macroscopic wafers and devices can be patterned over the entire surface with high reliability. Recent progress in this area will be presented, including the discovery of the band gap on graphene grown on the silicon terminated face and the discovery of an unusual rotated phase of multilayered graphene grown on the carbon terminated face. This causes the electronic band structure (and the electronic properties) to be similar to that of single layer graphene rather than that of graphite. Other developments will be discussed, including integration of graphene oxide and of carbon nanotubes into patterned epitaxial graphene structures. These recent developments further amplify the feasibility of patterned epitaxial graphene for nanoelectroncs.

Links

GA Tech faculty profile

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Rodney Ruoff

Cockrell Family Endowed Chair
Mechanical Engineering
University of Texas

Background

Prof. Rodney Ruoff joined UT Austin in the Fall of 2007 as a Cockrell Family Regents Chair. Previously he served for 5 years as Director of the Biologically Inspired Materials Institute at Northwestern University. He has been a Visiting Chair Professor at Sung Kyun Kwan U. in South Korea. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from the U. of Texas (Austin) and Ph.D. from the UI-Urbana. He was a Fulbright Fellow at the Max Planck Institute-Goettingen, Germany. From ‘89-’90, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center in NY. Prior to joining NU in 2000, he was a Staff Scientist at the Molecular Physics Lab. of SRI International and Assoc. Prof. of Physics at Washington U. His research activities include global environment & energy; synthesis & physical/chemical properties of nanostructures & composites; nanorobotics, NEMS, & tools for biomedical research. He played a central role in the development of the Fullerenes Division of the Electrochemical Society. He has developed new instruments that have led to important studies of nanostructure mechanics. Prof. Ruoff has published ~160 refereed journal articles in the fields of chemistry, physics, mechanics, & materials science.

Abstract

Graphene-based Materials and their Properties
I present results on a new class of materials, the graphene-based materials. Our top-down approaches [1,2] motivated physicists to study individual layers of graphite, but our current approach has been to convert graphite to graphite oxide (GO), generate colloidal suspensions of individual layers of GO in water, and to use these individual layers in a variety of ways. For example, we have embedded individual and reduced 'graphene oxide' sheets in polymers such as polystyrene and evaluated their dispersion & sheet morphology, and the electrical percolation & conductivity of the resulting composites. In parallel, we have (i) undertaken studies of individual graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide sheets, to elucidate their optical and electrical properties, (ii) embedded graphene oxide sheets in glass by a sol-gel route thereby making electrically conductive and transparent glass coatings, and (iii) produced 'graphene oxide paper', a material with intriguing mechanical properties. Supported by NSF, ONR/NRL, NASA, and DARPA.

[1] Lu XK, Yu MF, Huang H, and Ruoff RS, Tailoring graphite with the goal of achieving single sheets, Nanotechnology, 10, 269-272 (1999).

[2] Lu XK, Huang H, Nemchuk N, and Ruoff RS, Patterning of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite by oxygen plasma etching, Applied Physics Letters, 75, 193-195 (1999).

Links

University of Texas at Austin Faculty Profile

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