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Caption: Hexagonal close-packed assembly of iron oxide nanoparticles

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Description: The particles shown here are made of iron oxide, or rust – just like on a car. But these nanoparticles are tiny, 100,000 times thinner than a sheet of paper. At such a small size, they demonstrate some unique properties that can be used to detect and treat diseases like cancer by just applying external magnetic field without any side effects. Due to the same size and shape, the magnetic nanoparticles self-assemble (or come together) into a closely-packed honeycomb pattern.  Iron oxide nanoparticles like these are already used to help people suffering from iron deficiency (anemia). Researchers study how these magnetic nanoparticles interact with each other and tissues in the body, which can open new avenues for nontoxic, targeted tests and treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease.
Laboratory website: http://vpd.ms.northwestern.edu/
Technique: Transmission Electron Microscopy
Funding Source: NTU-NU Institute for NanoMedicine located at the International Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, USA and the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Caption: (a) Cross-section micrograph of Tunnel Field-Effect-Transistor (TFET). TFETs are high impact next generation transistors which can provide high performance with extreme energy efficiency compared to conventional silicon-transistors. This high performance stems from quantum mechanical tunneling of electrons across the tunnel junction interface detailed in (b) and (c). TFET fabrication and Transmission Electron Micrograph by Rahul Pandey. Atom Probe characterization of TFET tunnel junction done in collaboration with Markus Kuhn at Intel Corporation (Metrology Group, Hillsboro, OR).

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Description: As we venture into the era of Internet of Things with more intelligent and connected electronic devices, there is an increasing need for more energy efficient data processing. Conventional Silicon-MOS Field-Effect-Transistors (MOSFETs) cannot meet these demands. We are developing a Tunnel Field-Effect-Transistor (TFET) based on III-V arsenide-antimonide hetero-junctions to provide high performance at extremely low power consumption. In a TFET, the electrons undergo quantum mechanical tunneling from the source to the channel region which filters out the high-energy carriers resulting in very steep switching and energy savings. Using III-V arsenide-antimonide hetero-junctions in designing TFETs ensures high performance through high on-current even at extremely low voltages (<0.5 V). Critical to TFET performance when they are made from combinations of III-V materials is the need for abrupt and uniform interfaces among the dissimilar materials. Variability at these interfaces, or heterojunctions, dramatically impacts device performance. It is hence of significant importance to characterize hetero-junction TFETs with precision in nanometer-scale devices which have been presented in the figures.

Laboratory website: http://www.ndcl.ee.psu.edu/
Technique: Cross-section micrograph of fabricated III-V compound semiconductor based TFET (Fig. a) is obtained through Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The team at Penn State collaborated with researchers from Intel Corporation to use Atom Probe Tomography and Time-of-flight Spectroscopy to characterize critical tunnel junction interface in TFET (Fig. b and c). 

Funding Source: This work was supported by the National Science Foundation ASSIST Nanosystems ERC under Award Number EEC-1160483.

Caption: Smiling in Nanospace (Nano=sheep)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Description: ZnO nanowires are grown on Cu wire without any catalysis. These nanowire assemblies serve as optically active multi-purpose templates. Various solar and piezoelectric energy harvesting devices can be prepared using this architecture. Moreover, it is an essential building block for variety of novel electrochemical and photochemical devices.
Laboratory website: http://research.physics.berkeley.edu/zettl/
Technique: Scanning Electron Microscopy

Funding Source: This research was supported in part by the Director, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231, which provided for SEM imaging under an LDRD award, and, within the sp2-bonded materials program (KC2207), for the design of the experiment and material characterization; the National Science Foundation under Grant 1542741, which provided for photovoltaic response characterization; and by the Office of Naval Research (MURI) under Grant N00014-12-1-1008, which provided for nanowire growth.

Caption: The SEM micrograph shows an isolated and wrinkled hexagonal graphene grain supported on copper.  Graphene is a 2-D material with mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties that exceed conventional engineering materials.

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Description: This  grain of graphene was synthesized using chemical vapor deposition on a copper foil substrate. The hexagonal shape of the graphene grain is indicative of the graphene hexagonal crystal lattice structure, while the striped pattern arises due to adhesion and wrinkling with the underlying substrate. To fully capitalize on the potentially transformative physical properties of graphene, we are examining methodologies to locally machine carbon nanomaterials such as graphene with the spatial resolution consistent with that of scanning electron microscopes (~2 nm). This image was taken prior to machining; however, a small rhombus-shaped test hole may be seen near the bottom right face of the graphene crystal.  Through innovative nanomanufacturing, we hope to design highly efficient nanoscale transistors and devices with areal densities greater than current integrated circuits.
Laboratory website: http://engineers.missouri.edu/maschmannm/ 

Technique: Transmission Electron Microscopy

Funding Source: This work is funded by the University of Missouri Alumni Association Richard Wallace Faculty Incentive Grant.