Archived Newsletters

Dates to Remember

  • Sept. 3, 2010 (Friday) Deadline for submitting invited speaker suggestions for DMP Focus Topics (Use DMP nomination form and e-mail to Topic organizers)
  • Oct. 1, 2010 Deadline for nominations for DMP Officers and Executive Committee Members
  • Nov. 19, 2010, (Friday) Abstract deadline for the 2011 APS March Meeting. Submission is via the web
  • February 1, 2011 DMP Deadline for APS Fellowship Nomination
  • March 21-15, 2011 (with tutorials, etc., March 20): APS March Meeting in Dallas, Texas

A Note from the Chair

It is our pleasure to extend a welcome from the Executive Committee of the Division of Materials Physics. This Summer Newsletter contains important information for the upcoming March Meeting in Dallas, Texas (March 21-25, 2011).

The DMP has a tradition of organizing interdisciplinary Focus Topics in areas of current interest in materials physics. The process is being coordinated by Chair Elect, Peter Schiffer, and all the members of the Executive Committee contributed to selecting the topics and inviting the organizers. The topics and organizers are the major component of this newsletter, and we encourage you to review the topics to plan the best opportunities to present your research at the 2011 March Meeting.

This is also the time to input your suggestions for invited speakers, and the process is described below. This is your meeting, so please make the effort to contribute to its organization and help identify the best and most deserving invited speakers in your area of expertise.

The DMP also organizes outreach events and several invited symposia that address topics of broad interest to the materials physics community. Planning is under way for these events and symposia, and we hope some will capture your interest.

Student presenters are invited to apply for an Iris Ovshinsky Student Travel Award. Information is included below.

We also encourage nominations for APS Fellowship. Nominating a deserving colleague is a great way to acknowledge their contributions. Information on the nomination process is available through the DMP website. While the deadline is February 1, 2011, it is always helpful to start early.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the DMP Executive Committee who have recently completed their service, for the generous donation of their time and expertise in carrying out the work of DMP. These are Laura Greene and Franz Himpsel, who have stepped down as Members at Large. And a special thanks to Ivan Schuller, who has completed four years of leadership as Vice-Chair, Chair-Elect, Chair, and Past-Chair of the Division of Materials Physics.

Looking forward to seeing you in Dallas.

Robert Nemanich, Chair

The American Physical Society - DMP Iris Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards

The Iris Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards have been established to assist the career of student researchers. The Awards are named after Iris Ovshinsky who had a very strong interest and commitment to scientific education. The awards have been endowed by the Ovshinsky family, their colleagues at Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) companies and all their numerous friends from many social, intellectual and business relationships.

We anticipate that there will be ten $500 awards each year to enable students to participate in the APS March Meeting sessions which are sponsored by the Division of Materials Physics. The selection committee will consist of the following officers of the Division of Materials Physics: Secretary/Treasurer, Vice Chair and Past Chair.

Students interested in being considered for an award should provide the following:

  • Submitted Abstract and DMP Focus Topic.
  • CV (1 page), including current degree program and anticipated graduation, publication list, etc.
  • Student’s Statement (250 words or less) providing the context of the contribution.

Research Sponsor’s Statement (250 words or less) verifying student enrollment and providing context of the contribution.

Submissions are due by January 14, 2011 and should be submitted by email to the Secretary/Treasurer Chris J Palmstrøm

The Iris Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards for the 2010 March Meeting were presented to: Paris Alexander (Univ. of Maryland, College Park), Gang Chen (UCSB), Wei Chen (Northwestern), Kendal Clark (Ohio U), Qing He (Univ. of California, Berkeley), Maria Kamentska (Columbia), Silvia Viola Kusminsky (Northeastern), Adina Luican (Rutgers), Andrew May (Caltech), and David Toyli (UCSB)

Award Recipients

Nominations for DMP Officers and Executive Committee Members

A DMP election will be held late in 2010 to elect a Vice-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer and two new at-large Executive Committee Members. The Nominating Committee shall nominate at least two candidates for the ballot for each office. Suggestions for candidates for these offices can be made to the Chair of the Nominating Committee, Ramamoorthy Ramesh. In addition, candidates can be nominated directly to be placed on the ballot, by petition of five percent of the membership of the Division. Such petitions must be received by the Secretary-Treasurer (Chris Palmstrøm) by October 1, 2010.

Call for Invited Speaker Suggestions

With this issue of the Newsletter, the Division of Materials Physics announces the program of DMP Focus Topics for the 2011 APS March Meeting (Dallas, TX, March 21 - 25, 2011). A Focus Topic generally consists of a series of sessions, each of which is typically seeded with one invited talk, the remainder of the session being composed of contributed presentations.

DMP members are encouraged to make suggestions for invited speakers for these Focus Topics. The deadline for submitting such suggestions is September 3, 2010. Suggestions can be made by emailing the suggestion directly to the appropriate focus topic organizers who are listed with the Focus Topic descriptive paragraphs.

Your suggestions should use the online form available online to provide the following information:

  • The nominator’s name, affiliation, phone number and e-mail address.
  • The suggested speaker’s name, affiliation, address, phone number, and e-mail.
  • The title of the suggested talk.
  • A brief justification of the nomination (1500 character limit)
  • Supporting reference(s).

The completed form should be e-mailed to the Focus Topic Organizers by September 3rd in order to be considered. Note that individuals who had an invited presentation at the 2010 March Meeting are not eligible for this meeting.

Finally, note that the contents of this Newsletter will be available electronically on the DMP website. In case of any need for corrections or updates, these will also be posted at this location.

List of DMP-Sponsored or Co-Sponsored Focus Topics and Sorting Categories for the 2011 APS March Meeting

02 Semiconductors

02.10.2 Dopants and Defects in Semiconductors (DMP)
Joel W. Ager, Lawrence Berkley National Lab, Stefan Estreicher, Texas Tech University & Tonio Buonassisi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The presence of impurities and defects in semiconductors are tied to many of the important properties of semiconductors. Defects control carrier concentration, mobility, lifetime, and recombination; they are also responsible for processes that involve atomic transport such as migration, diffusion, and precipitation of impuri8ties and host atoms. In some cases, as in dilute III-N-V alloys, impurities even modify the band gap. The control of defects and impurities is the critical factor that enables a semiconductor to be engineered for use in electronic and optoelectronic devices as has been widely recognized in the remarkable development of Si-based electronics and the recent success of the GaN-based blue LED and lasers. The fundamental understanding, characterization and control of defects will be essential for the development of new devices, such as those based on novel wide-band gap semiconductors, spintronic materials, low-dimensional structures.

The physics of dopants and defects in semiconductors, from the bulk to the nanoscale and including surfaces, is the subject of this focus session. The electronic, structural, optical, magnetic and isotopic properties of dopants and defects in elemental and compound semiconductors, SiO2 and alternative dielectrics, wide band-gap semiconductors such as diamond, SiC, metal-oxides, and the group-III nitrides, and organic semiconductors are of interest. Abstracts on experimental and theoretical investigations are solicited.

02.10.3 Electricity-to-Light Conversion: Solid State Lighting (GERA/DMP) (NEW) (same as 24.7.1)
Dan Koleske, Sandia National Laboratory & E. Fred Schubert, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

This topic will focus on fundamental advances in the growth, characterization, and experimental as well as theoretical understanding of wide-gap semiconductors for applications in light emitting devices for solid state lighting. Contributions will cover fundamental physics related to the electricity-to-light conversion, such as band structure, quantum size effects, strain and piezoelectric effects, excitons, and surface phenomena. Contributions on epitaxial and bulk growth are encouraged, including MOVPE, MBE, HVPE, polar and semi-polar epitaxy, InGaN and InAlN alloys, and low-dimensional systems. Also encouraged is the presentation of studies of defects and doping, structural characterization, and optical characterization exploring and identifying mechanisms that influence radiative and non-radiative recombination. This topic also covers electrical characterization, carrier transport, photoconductivity, and device physics pertaining to diode lasers and light emitting diodes.

03. Insulators and Dielectrics

03.11.1 Dielectric, Ferroelectric & Piezoelectric Oxides (DMP/DCOMP) (same as 9.9.1)
Hans M. Christen, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, James M. Rondinelli, Argonne National Laboratory & Beatriz Noheda, University of Groningen

This topic will focus on recent advances in understanding of dielectric, ferroelectric, piezoelectric, and multiferroic phenomena in oxides, with emphasis on growth, characterization and theoretical modeling. We invite contributions on functional oxides in bulk, thin- film, superlattice, and nanostructured forms. Specific areas of interest include domain structure and dynamics, lattice dielectric properties, impact of disorder on cooperative behavior, physics of phase transitions and application of theoretical property-simulation and materials-design approaches to ferroic oxides. A major scientific thrust of the topic will be to discuss how bulk dielectric, ferroelectric, piezoelectric, and multiferroic properties are modified in thin-film, superlattice, or other nanoscale geometries, for example by the effects of strain, surfaces and interfaces, chemical environment, and electrical boundary conditions. Contributions addressing how these local properties could be harnessed in macroscopic applications will be particularly encouraged. Note that there is some overlap with other focus sessions on issues of complex oxides, multiferroics, and interfacial properties. As a rule of thumb, if the key emphasis of the presented work is on ferroelectric or piezoelectric properties, then the talk is most appropriate for this focus topic. The organizers of all of the related focus sessions will share information and will work together with the March Meeting Program Committee to create an optimal meeting program.

04. Polymer and Soft Matter Physics

04.15.13 Organic Electronics, & Photonics (DMP/DPOLY) (same as 16.12.2)
Garry Rumbles, National Renewable Energy Laboratory & Russell Holmes, University of Minnesota

The electronic and photonic properties of organic materials, including small molecules and polymers, continue to be the subject of active fundamental and applied research. This focus topic covers recent developments in this field.

In particular, contributions are solicited from the following areas related to organic semiconductor materials and devices:

  • Charge carrier transport and injection
  • Behavior of organic-organic and organic-inorganic interfaces
  • Optical and optoelectronic properties
  • Fundamental progress in device design and modeling including work on: light-emitting devices, photovoltaic cells, field-effect transistors, lasers.

04.15.14 Polymers for Energy Storage and Conversion (DMP/DPOLY/GERA) (same as 24.7.3)
Dean Delongchamp, NIST & Louis Madsen, Virginia Tech

The successful design, fabrication, and optimization of new macromolecular systems continue to push the frontiers of energy storage and conversion technologies. Advanced polymers have enabled devices based on electrochemical (batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitors), photoelectric (LEDs and solar cells), and mechanical (actuators and transducers) processes. Controlling transport phenomena as well as interactions with light or fields requires the measurement and prediction of relevant materials properties and physical processes at characteristic length and time scales. This focus topic will explore the latest ideas and results in these areas. Materials focus areas include ion-containing polymers, photoactive and semiconducting polymers, nanocomposites and nanostructures, multilayered structures, oriented block copolymers, and hierarchical organization. Contributions are encouraged involving both theoretical and experimental investigations.

05. Superconductivity

05.19.1 Iron Based Superconductors and Related Compounds (DMP/DCOMP)
Jeffrey Lynn, NIST, Qimiao Si, Rice University & David Mandrus, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The iron-based superconductors exhibit high critical temperatures, high critical currents and remarkably isotropic upper critical fields, and what may be a fundamentally new superconducting state. Considerable progress has been made toward understanding both the normal and superconducting properties of these materials and their parent compounds, including the remarkable interplay between magnetic and superconducting behavior. This focus topic will cover both theoretical and experimental aspects of the Fe-based superconductors and related compounds, including their growth and preparation, their physical properties and excitations, and nature of the magnetism and superconductivity, as well as the pertinent microscopic models and associated many-body physics.

5.19.2 Search for New Superconductors (DMP)
Yvan Bruynseraede, K. U. Leuven & Laura Greene, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

This topic will focus on fundamental advances in the growth, characterization, and experimental as well as theoretical understanding of new superconducting materials with the exclusion of the recently discovered magnesium diborides, pnictides, and calcoginides. The main goal of this focus topic is to explore non-conventional ideas in superconductivity, and to foster the exchange of information about discoveries that may conceive a change in our understanding of superconductivity. Its purpose is to promote interaction among theorists and experimentalists and seed new directions in superconductivity research, especially in areas cutting across traditional disciplinary boundaries. Areas of interest include new approaches in the study of superconductivity in complex materials, metamaterials, heterojunctions, and hybrid structures. The focus topic will cover a wide range of novel superconductors such as organics and intercalation compounds. The creation of superconducting nanostructures with atomic scale control using physical and chemical methods is also of interest. The focus topic will specifically include research on understanding of mechanisms for improvements in superconducting materials, engineering superconductors with ab-initio methods, empirical approaches in the search for novel superconductors, and theoretical predictions leading past serendipitous discovery to predictive design.

06. Magnetism

06.14.1 Magnetic Nanostructures: Materials and Phenomena (DMP/GMAG) (same as 13.6.2)
Stephane Mangin, Nancy-Universite & Tiffany Santos, Argonne National Laboratory

This topic focuses on magnetic nanostructures such as thin films, multilayers, superlattices, nanoparticles, nanowires, nanorings, nanocomposites, core-shell structures, hybrid structures, magnetic point contacts and self-assembled as well as patterned magnetic arrays. The sessions will include methods used to synthesize such nanostructures, the variety of materials used, and the latest, original theoretical and experimental advances. There is a special interest in novel properties that arise at the nanoscale, as well as synthesis and characterization techniques demonstrating nano- or atomic-scale control of properties. Phenomena and properties of interest include: spin-dependent magneto-transport, magnetization dynamics, current and field induced magnetization reversal or domain wall propagation, exchange coupling, magnetic quantum confinement, proximity and structural disorder effects, strain effects, microwave resonance and microwave assisted reversal, magnetic anisotropy, inter-particle interactions and thermal and quantum fluctuations.

6.14.2 Bulk Properties of Complex Oxides (DMP/GMAG) (same as 7.12.2, 09.9.2)
Rongying Jin, Louisiana State University, Michelle Johannes, Naval Research Labs & Dmitry Reznik, University of Colorado

Transition metal oxides exhibit a wide range of novel phenomena, which originate from the complexity induced by competing interactions and nearly degenerate multiple ground states. Associated with this complexity is a tendency for new forms of orders such as the formation of stripes, ladders, checkerboards, or phase separation, and an enhanced response to external fields that gives rise to giant and colossal effects with potential for applications. This Focus Topic explores the nature of the various ground states observed in bulk specimens of complex oxides and their competing interactions, the ways in which the spin, lattice, charge and orbital degrees of freedom respond on a variety of length scales, and how they interact and compete with each other to produce novel phenomena. It provides a forum to discuss recent developments and results covering basic aspects (new materials synthesis, experiment, theory and simulation) of bulk systems, including 3-, 4-, and 5-d transition metal complex oxides. Note there is some overlap in topic with other DMP and GMAG focus sessions. Bulk oxides with interest predominantly for dielectric, ferroelectric or piezoelectric properties should be submitted to the session that focuses on those materials. The organizers of all of the related focus sessions will share information and will work together with the March Meeting Program Committee to create an optimal meeting program.

6.14.3 Magnetic Oxide Thin Films (DMP/GMAG) (same as 7.12.3, 9.9.3)
Manuel Bibes, CNRS-National Center for Scientific Research, Anand Bhattacharya, Argonne National Laboratory, John Freeland, Argonne National Laboratory & Lane Martin, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Magnetism in complex oxide materials has long been a rich field of study in solid state physics as there are strong interactions between spin, charge, lattice, and orbital degrees of freedom at play in these materials. Furthermore, when magnetic oxide materials are grown as thin films they often exhibit additional effects resulting from epitaxial strain, reduced dimensionality, charge transfer, proximity effects, or phase competition and/or coupling across interfaces. This Focus Topic is dedicated to the investigation of advances in the understanding of electronic and magnetic properties of oxides thin films, heterostructures, superlattices, and nanostructures with an emphasis on growth, characterization, and theoretical modeling. Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, ferrimagnetic, and multiferroic materials. Topics to be discussed include growth of magnetic oxide materials, control of magnetic properties, domain structures, and dynamics with the growth process (i.e., epitaxial strain, interfaces, etc.), state-of-the-art techniques to probe and image different types of magnetic order in complex oxide thin films (including optical and electron-probes and neutron/synchrotron-based techniques), magneto-transport, and recent developments in theoretical property simulation and materials-design approaches to magnetic oxide thin films, superlattices, and nanostructures. Note there is some overlap in topic with other DMP and GMAG focus sessions. As as a rule of thumb, if the magnetism plays a key role in the investigation or the properties observed, then the talk is appropriate for this session. The organizers of all of the related focus sessions will share information and work together with the March Meeting Program Committee to make an optimal meeting program.

06.14.4 Spin Transport & Magnetization Dynamics in Metal Based Systems (GMAG/DMP/FIAP) (same as 16.12.3)
Shufeng Zhang, University of Arizona, Tom Silva, NIST-Boulder & Goran Mihajlovic, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies

Spin-related effects in metals and in (ferromagnetic) heterostructures are generally robust and readily observed at room temperature. Fundamental discoveries such as the Giant and Tunnel Magnetoresistance and the current-induced spin-transfer torque have moved from discovery to applications in remarkably short times, and this whole field of research is rapidly expanding. This Focus Topic covers the new developments in this field, including experimental and theoretical aspects of spin transport and magnetization dynamics in metal-based systems, such as ultrathin films, lateral nanostructures, perpendicular nanopillars, and tunnel junctions.

In particular, contributions describing new results in the following areas are solicited:

  • The interplay between spin currents and magnetization dynamics in magnetic nanostructures; spin-transfer, spin pumping and related phenomena, including current-induced magnetization dynamics in heterostructures and domain wall motion in magnetic wires.
  • Theoretical predictions and experimental discovery of half-metallic band structures, both in bulk solids and at the surfaces of thin films. Spin transport and magnetization dynamics in magnetic nanostructures (e.g. TMR, CPP-GMR and lateral spin valve structures) based on half-metallic materials.
  • Effects of the spin-orbit interaction on steady-state and dynamical properties of nanostructures including: the (inverse) spin and anomalous Hall effects, microscopic mechanisms of magnetization damping, magnetic anisotropy manipulation by electric fields, and the effects of interface spin-orbit interaction.
  • Ultrafast magnetization response to (and reversal by) intense laser pulses; magnetization dynamics at elevated temperatures and thermally assisted magnetization reversal.
  • Thermoelectric spin phenomena such as giant-magneto thermopower and Peltier effects, spin-Seebeck effect, spin and anomalous Nernst and Ettingshausen effects (spin caloritronics).
  • Magnetization dynamics in (composite) nanostructures including spin wave excitation, propagation, and detection (magnonics), as well as vortices.

06.14.5 Spin Dependent Phenomena in Semiconductors (GMAG/DMP/FIAP) (same as 02.10.1, 16.12.4)
Michael Flatte, University of Iowa & Nitin Samarth, Penn State University

The field of spin-dependent phenomena in semiconductors is developing rapidly, with significant advances and challenges in a widening range of material systems (e.g., oxides, silicon, diamond, graphene and organics), in semiconductor nanostructures (e.g., self-assembled and lithographically defined quantum dots, quantum wires and carbon nanotubes), and in hybrid ferromagnetic/semiconductor device structures. This series of Focus Sessions solicits contributions aimed at understanding spin-dependent processes in magnetic and non-magnetic structures incorporating semiconducting materials. Topics include: (i) growth, characterization, electrical, optical and magnetic properties of (ferro-)magnetic semiconductors, nanocomposite and hybrid ferromagnet/semiconductor structures including quantum dots, nanocrystals, and nano wires; (ii) high temperature ferromagnetism in semiconductors and semiconductor oxides (iii) transport and dynamical effects in semiconductors with or without spin-orbit interactions; (iv) electrical and optical spin injection, spin Hall effects, spin interference, spin filtering, spin lifetime effects, spin dependent scattering, and spin torque; (v) manipulation, detection, and entanglement of electrical and nuclear spins in quantum systems such as dots, impurities and point defects; and (vi) spin-dependent devices and device proposals involving ferromagnets and semiconductors.

06.14.6 Frustrated and Low Dimensional Magnetism (GMAG/DMP)
Jason Gardner, NIST, Stephen Nagler, Oak Ridge National Laboratory & Myriam Sarachik, CCNY

There is a robust framework for describing the low temperature structures, phase transitions, and excitations of conventional three dimensional magnetic materials. However, when fluctuations are enhanced by low dimensionality or competing interactions, qualitatively new behavior can emerge. This is well established in one and two dimensions where controlled theory and experiment have uncovered phases lacking long-range magnetic order but exhibiting novel statistical and quantum phenomena. Such phenomena include valence bond solids and various forms of spin liquid and spin ice phases. This Focus Topic solicits abstracts for presentations that explore both theoretical and experimental aspects of the field. Topics of interest include: low dimensional quantum magnetism, geometrical frustration and associated effects of quantum spin liquid and spin ice, magnetism in zero dimensions (e.g. quantum dots, single molecule magnets), order by disorder, the role of magnetoelastic coupling, quantum critical low dimensional spin systems, topological excitations, quantum tunneling of magnetization and novel field-induced behavior. Also of interest are the effects of strongly fluctuating spins on properties beyond magnetism including transport, thermal transport and ferroelectricity.

06.14.7 Spin Dependent Physics in Organic-based Materials (GMAG/DMP)
Jing Shi, UC Riverside, Luis Hueso, CIC nanoGUNE, & Barbaros Ozylimaz, NUS, Singapore

This focus topic is on spin transport and exchange in organic and molecular solids including all-carbon systems, transition-metal with and without organic radical systems, as well as π-conjugated polymeric systems. Research at the intersection of several forefront areas in condensed matter and material physics are of interest: spin injection at the inorganic to organic interface, the degree of spin polarization attainable by organic based solids, understanding and demonstrating the low Z attributes to spin transport including hyperfine interaction betweenthe electronic spin and nuclear magnetic moments, and novel forms of magnetic exchange that may be adapted to inorganic dilute magnetic semiconductors. Phenomena and materials of interest include hybrid ferromagnetic/organic structures, spin transport in graphene and carbon nanotubes, Kondo effect, spin qbits in diamond, quantum tunneling, triplet states and coherence in molecular nanomagnetics, organic magnetoresistance and magneto-electroluminescence, and all related topics.

6.14.8 Novel Magnetic Devices (DMP/GMAG)
Peter Fischer, CXRO, LBNL, Dafine Ravelosona, IEF, Orsay, France & William Rippard, NIST-Boulder

This topic focuses on novel magnetic devices of all kinds, with a special interest in devices that make use of the spin torque effect. Of particular interest are spin torque switching of magnetic nanobits — which could be used in an advanced magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) — and spin torque nano-oscillators, both theoretically and experimentally. Other devices of interest include magnetic tunnel junctions, or spin valves with special properties that can enable advanced magnetic technologies such as thermal assisted MRAM, toggle MRAM, high density magnetic recording, or magnetic sensors for field detection and biological sensing. Less mature devices are also of interest, including semiconductor devices that make use of electron spin, magnetic semiconductors, negative resistance to achieve power gain, voltage control of the magnetization, and other novel mesoscopic structures. Also of interest are the results of novel metrology techniques
that have been applied to examine the underlying physics of the above devices. Examples of interest include high frequency/high speed electrical or optical measurements to examine magnetodynamics, and imaging techniques such as XMCD.

07. Complex Structured Materials

07.12.1 Carbon Nanotubes & Related Materials (DMP)
John Robertson, University of Cambridge, Moonsub Shim, University of Illinois & Mathias Steiner, IBM

Interest in the fundamental properties and applications of carbon nanotubes and related allotropes of carbon continues to grow. The reason for this interest lies in the unique combination of electrical, chemical, mechanical, thermal, optical, opto-electronic, spectroscopic and magnetic properties of these systems.

This focus topic addresses recent developments in (i) the fundamental understanding of nanotubes and related materials, including synthesis, characterization, processing, purification, chemical, mechanical, thermal, electrical, optical, opto-electronic and magnetic properties, and (ii) in their potential applications as interconnects, thermal management surfaces, thin film transistors, composite materials, super-capacitors, nanosensors, nanoprobes, field emitters, high surface-area storage media, and magnetic devices.

Experimental and theoretical contributions are solicited in the following areas:

  1. Synthesis and characterization of nanostructures of carbon, including nanotubes, nanohorns, and other graphitic nanostructures;
  2. control of growth, growth optimization, including chirality control and in-situ studies;
  3. purification, separation, chemical functionalization, alignment/assembly of these nanostructures;
  4. the structure and properties of hybrid systems, including filled and chemically modified carbon nanotubes and nanotube peapods;
  5. mechanical and thermal properties of these nanostructures and their composites;
  6. electrical and magnetic properties of these systems; and
  7. their mesoscopic, structural, optical, opto-electronic and transport properties as well as their spectroscopic characterization.
    The focus topic will also cover the broad range of unique applications of these nanosystems, including their use for:
  8. electronic devices including interconnects, supercapacitors, thin film transistors, thermal management,
  9. multifunctional nanotube composites;
  10. chemical and bio-sensing applications;
  11. field emission; and
  12. a new generation of magnetic and electronic devices.

07.12.4 Computational Design of New Materials (DMP/DCOMP) (same as 17.9.1)
Yue Qi, GM, Irena Knezevic, University of Wisconsin-Madison & Vincent Crespi, Pennsylvania State University

Advances in theoretical understanding, algorithms and computational power are enabling computational tools to play an increasing role in materials discovery, development and optimization. This session will cover recent applications and methodological developments at the frontier of computational materials design, from atomistic-level prediction to large-scale property optimization. Of particular interest is computational and theoretical work that features a strong connection to experiment, i.e. that can or has been confirmed by experimental observations. Topics include (but are not be limited to) first-principles materials design, algorithms to search the structure-composition design space, and theory/methodological innovations that improve the scope, accuracy and efficiency of computational materials design. All application areas are welcome, but we particularly encourage those in energy materials (batteries, fuel cells, photovoltaics, catalysts, etc.) and systems dominated by strong kinetic constraints, as well as multiscale simulation of nonequlilibrium transport and optical phenomena.

07.12.7 Epitaxial Graphene: Growth, Properties, and Devices (DMP)
Kevin McCarty, Sandia National Laboratory, Randall Feenstra, Carnegie Mellon University & D. Kurt Gaskill, Naval Research Laboratory

Graphene, one (or a few) monolayers of carbon in a honeycomb arrangement, continues to be of very high interest due to its unique structural and electronic properties. For graphene synthesis, a number of promising approaches have been developed based on epitaxial formation on a suitable substrate. Perhaps the best-studied approach is graphene formation on SiC by Si sublimation at high temperature, but alternative approaches, including graphene formation on crystalline metal surfaces, have also been demonstrated. This Epitaxial Graphene Focus Topic will deal with (i) graphene growth on substrates, (ii) modeling the growth processes to deduce underlying mechanisms, (iii) characterization and modeling of the structural, electronic and optical properties of epitaxial graphene and (iv) devices based on epitaxial graphene, including their fabrication, characterization and modeling. Methods for separating graphene from underlying substrates are also of interest. Also of interest are theoretical discussions on inducing a band gap in epitaxial graphene and the experimental manifestation of a gap.

07.12.8 Graphene Structure, Dopants and Defects (DMP)
Eduardo Mucciolo, University of Central Florida, Michael Fuhrer, University of Maryland & Roland Kawakami, University of California Riverside

The study of graphene, a single atomic plane of graphite, remains a rapidly growing field of research. This topic will focus on the materials physics of graphene produced by mechanical or chemical means, including single layer, bilayer, trilayer, and multilayer graphenes as well as structurally or chemically modified graphenes. We invite contributions in the following areas:

  • The material physics of structurally or chemically modified graphene, including defects, edges, vacancies, adatoms, adsorbates, ripples, strained graphene, graphane, graphene fluoride, graphene oxide, etc.
  • Magnetism in graphene, including magnetism in defects, adsorbates, dopants in graphene.
  • Interactions of exfoliated or chemically produced graphenes with substrates and environment.

7.12.9 Role of van der Waals Bonding in Advanced Materials: Experiments and Theory (DMP)
Yves Chabal, University of Texas-Dallas, Giulia Galli, University of California-Davis & Per Hyldgaard, Chalmers University of Technology

A very broad class of materials have regions with low electron concentration where van der Waals forces contribute significantly to the structure and behavior. This topic session will present an overview of recent advances in experiments and in theory leading towards a deeper understanding of these weak interactions. The session will focus on development of quantitative descriptions of van der Waals bonded materials. Examples range from molecular crystals and supramolecular structures, molecules physisorbed or weakly adsorbed on surfaces, self-assembled functional overlayers, hollow materials such as zeolites and metal-organic frameworks for hydrogen storage and carbon sequestration, to the broad class of layered materials that undergo facile exfoliation. The focus session will include but is not limited to detailed experimental characterizations, for example at surfaces or in microporous materials, as well as first-principles calculations. Contributions from all application areas, including triboly are welcome. We particularly encourage contributions from experimental work that details a van der Waals nature in cohesion or function as well as theory accounts for specific materials problems to stimulate further experiment-theory exchange and calibration.

13. Artificially Structured Materials

13.6.1 Optical Properties of Nanostructures and Metamaterials (DMP)
Gernot Güntherodt, RWTH Aachen University & Roberto Merlin, University of Michigan

Optical phenomena emerging on the nanometer scale are quite unusual and of great current interest. Systems exhibiting such unique functionalities comprise chemically synthesized single molecules, nanoparticles, nanorods, nanowires and nanotubes, as well as quantum dots. Another focus is on near-field optics, plasmonics and electrodynamics of metamaterials. Optical properties on the nanoscale shall include insights from experimental and/or theoretical research and from research by any of the spectroscopic, scattering, or time-resolved methods spanning from the visible to the far-infrared spectrum. The principal aim of this focused topic session is to bring together colleagues from different disciplines to advance our understanding of novel optical phenomena in nanosystems and composite media.

13.6.4 Electron, Ion, and Exciton Transport in Nanostructures (DMP) (same as 14.9.1)
Lincoln Lauhon, Northwestern University & Yuriy Pershin, University of South Carolina

A host of transformative device technologies depend for their function on fluxes of charge, mass, energy, or combinations thereof. This focus topic will address fundamental challenges and new opportunities to understand and control electron, ion, and exciton transport in nanostructures, with a particular interest in the influence of interfaces between different materials and phases.

Contributions are solicited in areas that reflect recent advances in the experimental characterization and theory of inorganic nanostructures, including those based on individual quantum dots (0-D), nanowires (1-D), and nanoplatelets (2-D). Specific topics of interest include, but not limited to:

  1. Experimental and theoretical correlation of nanoscale structure with electronic transport properties.
  2. Influence of dimensionality on charge carrier scattering and phase transitions.
  3. Transport through metal-semiconductor interfaces.
  4. Theoretical and experimental progress towards understanding and exploiting memory effects in resistive and capacitive systems.

Separate focus sessions sponsored or cosponsored by DMP will organize presentations on transport in carbon nanotubes, graphene, magnetic nanostructures (spin transport), and molecules. Photovoltaics and thermoelectrics will also be the subject of separate focus sessions.

13.6.5 Interfaces in Complex Oxides (DMP) (same as 7.12.10)
Craig J. Fennie, Cornell University, Andrew Millis, Columbia University & Maitri Warusawithana, Florida State University

The exciting recent discovery that atomically precise interfaces can be fabricated in complex oxide materials opens a new window on complex oxide physics and materials science, providing wide range of exciting new fundamental and applied research direction. Complex oxide materials display a rich variety of intriguing behaviors including magnetism and superconductivity with strikingly high transition temperatures, ferroelectricity, charge and orbital ordering, metal-insulator transitions and highly enhanced responses to strain and applied electric and magnetic fields. Proximity to an interface will change all of these behaviors and may induce new effects. The March meeting sessions in this focus topic aim to bring together experimental and theoretical researchers working on all aspects of interface-related behavior in complex oxide materials, including the growth and characterization of oxide interface and superlattice systems, development and application of new interface-related measurement techniques, measurements and theory related to interface-induced changes in physical properties, new or modified interface-mediated aggregate responses and collective states, as well as the search for entirely new interface-related phenomena and the use of oxide interfaces as a test-bed for rational design of materials with desirable electronic properties.

There is some overlap in topic with other DMP focus sessions; as a rule of thumb, if the interface plays a key role in the investigation or the properties observed, then the talk is appropriate for this session. The organizers of all of the related focus sessions will share information and will work together with the March Meeting Program Committee to make an optimal March meeting program.

14. Surfaces, Interfaces and Thin Films

14.9.2 Growth, Structure, Dynamics, and Function of Nanostructured Surfaces and Interfaces (DMP) (same as 13.6.6)
Jacques Amar, University of Toledo, Daniel Dougherty, North Carolina State University & Melissa Hines, Cornell University

Progress in nanoscience depends on a fundamental understanding of the evolution of atomic structure, composition, morphology, and electronic properties at surfaces and interfaces. The ability to understand and control the thermodynamics and kinetics of surface processes will enable the creation of new structures and the discovery of new phenomena. This focus session will highlight recent experimental and theoretical developments associated with the formation and stability of nanostructured surfaces, thin films, and interfaces, of hard and soft matter. Particular emphasis will be placed on tailoring functional (i.e. mechanical, electrical, optical and magnetic) properties of thin-film nanostructures. Novel hybrid nanostructures relevant to energy harvesting, catalysis, sensing, and biology will also be addressed.

14.9.3 Friction, Fracture and Deformation Across Length Scales (DMP/GSNP/DCOMP) (same as 12.7.3)
Noam Bernstein, Naval Research Laboratory, Robin Selinger, Kent State University & Jackie Krim, North Carolina State University

This session focuses on the physics of friction, fracture and deformation, processes which involve mechanical response and energy dissipation at scales from the atomic to the macroscopic. Materials of interest include crystalline, nanostructured, and amorphous solids. Relevant topics include measurements via micro- and nano-scale probes such as atomic force microscopy, surface forces apparatus, and quartz crystal microbalance; atomic scale and multiscale simulations and theoretical models of mechanical response, microstructural evolution, pattern formation and scaling behavior; size effects in plasticity; stress-driven chemical reactions e.g. in deformation of energetic materials; brittle and ductile fracture/failure; tribology of clean material surfaces in vacuum, and coated or lubricated surfaces; and studies of cryotribology, stick-slip mechanisms, thermolubricity, cryolubricity and electronic/phononic and quantum contributions to friction. Applications of interest range over length scales from nanowires and micromachines (MEMS) up to geological processes such as tectonic faulting and earthquakes. Sessions will explore and compare the current state of experimental, theoretical, and simulation studies.

15. Instrumentation and Measurement

15.10.6 Imaging and Modifying Materials at the Limits of Space and Time Resolution (DMP)
John Spence, Arizona State University & Leo Zhigilei, University of Virginia

This focus topic covers the rapidly evolving field of material modification and imaging/probing with high spatial and temporal resolution. The ability to achieve high spatial resolution in material modification often relies on fast and highly localized energy deposition and, unavoidably, creates the conditions of strong thermodynamic, electronic, and/or mechanical nonequilibrium. The development of advanced imaging techniques capable for providing time-resolved information on the ultrafast structural and phase transformations is critical for gaining fundamental understanding of the material behavior far from the equilibrium and optimization of the conditions in the nanoscale material processing applications. The session aims to bring together researchers involved in experimental, theoretical, and computational investigations in the general area of high-resolution material modification and imaging and to facilitate active broad-ranging interdisciplinary discussions.

Topics of interest include but not limited to

  • material response to intense optical excitation, ion/cluster bombardment, severe mechanical deformation induced by mechanical impact
  • photo/shock-induced phase transformations, generation of new metastable phases/structures (bulk, nano, surfaces)
  • transient modification of material properties by electronic excitation
  • mechanisms of mass and heat transfer under non-equilibrium conditions
  • double/multiple laser pulse experiments with variable delay, pulse-shaping techniques
  • laser processing below the diffraction limit, nano-patterning, micro- and nano-fabrication
  • computer modeling and theoretical analysis of transient material behavior far from equilibrium
  • time-resolved experimental imaging of ultrafast processes, including optical pump-probe, x-ray and electron diffraction techniques, emerging techniques for femtosecond diffractive imaging using e.g. free-electron lasers or fast electron beams
  • imaging/probing of laser ablation and ablation plume expansion
  • time/spatially-resolved imaging of phase transformations, fracture, shock formation, mechanical spallation
  • imaging transient molecular dynamics in biological systems using free-electron X-ray lasers, and modeling of subsequent damage processes

16. Applications

16.12.5 Physics of Energy Storage Materials (DMP/GERA/FIAP/DCOMP) (same as 24.7.2)
Don Siegel, University of Michigan, Seth Darling, Argonne National Laboratory & Gholam-Abbas Nazri, General Motors

Energy storage is a cross-cutting topic that impacts applications ranging from transportation and portable electronics to large-scale (grid-based) storage for intermittent, renewable power sources. As the properties of energy storage devices depend critically upon the active materials from which they are constituted, improvements in capacity and power density hinge upon achieving a comprehensive understanding of the underlying materials physics and chemistry. Towards this goal, this Focus Topic will broadly cover the physics of energy storage materials. Specific topics of interest include, but are not limited to: advanced lithium-ion and metal-air batteries; hydrogen storage; supercapacitors; catalytic phenemonena in energy storage; nanostructured materials; intercalation and insertion compounds; ionic and electronic conductive polymers; novel synthesis methods; recent advances in real-time or in situ characterization techniques; and computational approaches ranging from ab initio calculations to mesoscale and continuum modeling. Of particular interest are studies which elucidate performance-limiting phenomena or which describe novel compounds or synthetic approaches aimed at overcoming these limitations.

16.12.8 Thermoelectric Materials for Power Generation and Cooling (DMP/GERA/FIAP) (same as 13.6.7, 24.7.4)
Don Morelli, Michigan State University & Marco Fornari, Central Michigan University

A large portion of the power produced worldwide is lost as heat to the environment. In a typical combustion engine, for instance, only 25% of the fuel chemical energy is used for mobility and accessories. If even a modest fraction of the lost thermal energy can be converted to electricity, the potential impact on energy efficiency could be enormous, leading to improved fuel economy and reduced carbon dioxide emissions.

Thermoelectric devices convert heat to electricity directly via the Seebeck effect. Alternatively, under electrical excitation these devices can provide heating and cooling via the Peltier effect. Thermoelectric technology is all solid-state, robust, and have a high power density.

From a materials perspective the efficiency of the energy converter depends on the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of the materials comprising it, which is defined as ZT = σ S2 T/ k where S, σ, k, and T are the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and absolute temperature, respectively. Although there is no fundamental upper limit to ZT, commercially available materials rarely exceed ZT=1 resulting in performance less than 10 percent of the Carnot limit.

The goal of this session is to bring together scientists working on both bulk and nanostructured thermoelectric materials to examine the current approaches for increasing ZT towards improved energy efficiency.

Topics will range from fundamental to applied physics and will include:

  • Paradigms and strategies to design novel bulk compositions,
  • Phenomena and techniques involving nanostructuring
  • Thermoelectricity in low dimensionality structures
  • Techniques and methods to measure and predict thermoelectric properties.

16.12.9 Scalable Technologies for Terawatt Photovoltaics (DMP/GERA/FIAP) (same as 24.7.5)
David Ginley, National Renewable Energy Laboratory & Wladek Walukiewicz, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

For renewable energy sources to make a real difference in the global energy mix they must ultimately generate energy on the terawatt scale. This symposium will focus the necessary physics and materials science that could enable emerging technologies to ultimately reach this scale. Some potential examples are thick film Si on glass, polymer based photovoltaics, III-V multi-junction cells on glass, high concentration III-V multi-junction cells and abundant thin film PV such as copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS). These technologies require in many cases new device models, the ability to control materials properties at the nanoscale, to manage light trapping in unprecedented ways, and to develop new approaches to how to make junctions and contacts to new materials systems. This focus topic will examine the future of these technologies and the challenges as they try to move to this scale.