Argonne National Laboratory
Center for Nanoscale Materials

Interfaces, Assembly and Fabrication for Emergent Properties

A central motive for this theme is that interfaces frequently play an important role in the optical, electronic, and mechanical properties of materials. Furthermore, interfaces, assemblies, and fabricated nanostructures can be the central feature for a desired functionality, such as long-lived charge separation across an interface. The expertise in the CNM in assembly and fabrication, combined with unique theory and characterization capabilities, provides an excellent opportunity for CNM scientists and users to create, understand, and ultimately control interfaces for a desired property or function. We approach this challenge through three thrusts: Interfaces for Emergent Properties; Assembly for Emergent Properties; and Fabrication for Emergent Properties.

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Thrust One

Interfaces for Emergent Properties: In this thrust, we will design strategies for fabricating varied (hetero) interfaces that showcase enhanced functionalities across various domains. We will utilize advanced in-situ and ex situ probing techniques at the atomic scale, as well as computational and theoretical approaches. Theory is necessary to model these systems accurately and predict the performance of heterointerfaces with precision. Our research has resulted in new basic science understanding of assemblies and novel interfaces with exciting functionalities.

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Thrust Two

Assembly for Emergent Properties: In this thrust, our objective is to unravel the intricate interactions among material assemblies at the interfaces down to the atomic scale. We are particularly targeting novel approaches to the assembly of varied 2D and 3D materials that show interesting electronic properties and which are of great potential relevance to microelectronics. We will leverage the unique characterization facilities at CNM and APS to probe the structural and electronic properties of the 3D/2D materials interfaces to understand the fundamental mechanism of charge transport. We will also use in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to correlate the transport properties of devices made from multilayer structures. In efforts connecting with the AI/ML-Accelerated Analytics and Automation theme, we will pursue an optimized algorithm for data reconstruction to better understand the interface structure in 3D/2D heterostructures.

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Thrust Three

Fabrication for Emergent Properties: In the Fabrication for Emergent Properties thrust, we manipulate materials or systems to exploit emergent phenomena for specific purposes such as mechanical, plasmonic or quantum applications. The focus is to advance our knowledge of the understanding of material interfaces that enable guided improvement to the functionalities of the system or realization of entirely new phenomena. This work is in collaboration with the AI/ML-Accelerated Analytics and Automation theme where we have developed, for example, DFT models for mixed dimensional heterostructures of interest for many types of devices, including field-effect transistors, sensors, and light-emitting diodes.