Intermolecular And Surface Forces

http://nanomechanics.mit.edu/sites/default/files/documents/2007_Acta_nc_Overview.143.pdf

Toward a quantitative understanding of mechanical behavior of nanocrystalline metals

This review focuses on electrochemical metallization memory cells (ECM), highlighting their advantages as the next generation memories. In a brief introduction, the basic switching mechanism of ECM cells is described and the historical development is sketched. In a second part, the full spectra of materials and material combinations used for memory device prototypes and for dedicated studies are presented. In a third part, the specific thermodynamics and kinetics of nanosized electrochemical cells are described. The overlapping of the space charge layers is found to be most relevant for the cell properties at rest. The major factors determining the functionality of the ECM cells are the electrode reaction and the transport kinetics. Depending on electrode and/or electrolyte material electron transfer, electro-crystallization or slow diffusion under strong electric fields can be rate determining. In the fourth part, the major device characteristics of ECM cells are explained. Emphasis is placed on switching speed, forming and SET/RESET voltage, R(ON) to R(OFF) ratio, endurance and retention, and scaling potentials. In the last part, circuit design aspects of ECM arrays are discussed, including the pros and cons of active and passive arrays. In the case of passive arrays, the fundamental sneak path problem is described and as well as a possible solution by two anti-serial (complementary) interconnected resistive switches per cell. Furthermore, the prospects of ECM with regard to further scalability and the ability for multi-bit data storage are addressed.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0957-4484/22/25/254003/pdf

Electrochemical metallization memories—fundamentals, applications, prospects

The global demand for data storage and processing has increased exponentially in recent decades. To respond to this demand, research efforts have been devoted to the development of non-volatile memory and neuro-inspired computing technologies. Chalcogenide phase-change materials (PCMs) are leading candidates for such applications, and they have become technologically mature with recently released competitive products. In this Review, we focus on the mechanisms of the crystallization dynamics of PCMs by discussing structural and kinetic experiments, as well as ab initio atomistic modelling and materials design. Based on the knowledge at the atomistic level, we depict routes to improve the parameters of phase-change devices for universal memory. Moreover, we discuss the role of crystallization in enabling neuro-inspired computing using PCMs. Finally, we present an outlook for future opportunities of PCMs, including all-photonic memories and processors, flexible displays with nanopixel resolution and nanoscale switches and controllers. Chalcogenide phase-change materials (PCMs) are leading candidates for non-volatile memory and neuro-inspired computing devices. This Review focuses on the crystallization mechanisms of PCMs as well as the design principles to achieve PCMs with high switching speeds and good data retention, which will aid the development of PCM-based universal memory and neuro-inspired devices.

Designing crystallization in phase-change materials for universal memory and neuro-inspired computing

The past five years have seen significant cost reductions in photovoltaics and a correspondingly strong increase in uptake, with photovoltaics now positioned to provide one of the lowest-cost options for future electricity generation. What is becoming clear as the industry develops is that area-related costs, such as costs of encapsulation and field-installation, are increasingly important components of the total costs of photovoltaic electricity generation, with this trend expected to continue. Improved energy-conversion efficiency directly reduces such costs, with increased manufacturing volume likely to drive down the additional costs associated with implementing higher efficiencies. This suggests the industry will evolve beyond the standard single-junction solar cells that currently dominate commercial production, where energy-conversion efficiencies are fundamentally constrained by Shockley-Queisser limits to practical values below 30%. This Review assesses the overall prospects for a range of approaches that can potentially exceed these limits, based on ultimate efficiency prospects, material requirements and developmental outlook.

Energy conversion approaches and materials for high-efficiency photovoltaics

A graphene layer on top of a dielectric can dramatically influence the ability of the material for radiative heat transfer. This property of graphene is used to improve the performance and reduce costs of near-field thermophotovoltaic cells. Instead of low-band-gap semiconductors it is proposed to use graphene-on-silicon Schottky photovoltaic cells. One layer of graphene absorbs around 90% of incoming radiation and increases the heat transfer. This strong absorption is due to the excitation of plasmons in graphene, which are automatically tuned in resonance with the emitted light in the midinfrared range. The absorbed radiation excites electron-hole pairs in graphene, which are separated by the surface field induced by the Schottky barrier. For a quasimonochromatic source the generated power is one order of magnitude larger and the efficiency is on the same level as for semiconductor photovoltaic cells.

/pdf/graphene-on-silicon-near-field-thermophotovoltaic-cell-i13ladpkiz.pdf

Graphene-on-Silicon Near-Field Thermophotovoltaic Cell

Erratum: Roughness spectrum and surface width of self-affine fractal surfaces via the K-correlation model [Phys. Rev. B 48, 14472 (1993)]

Nowadays bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as key materials for important modern applications in nanoplasmonics, catalysis, biodiagnostics, and nanomagnetics. Consequently the control of bimetallic structural motifs with specific shapes provides increasing functionality and selectivity for related applications. However, producing bimetallic NPs with well controlled structural motifs still remains a formidable challenge. Hence, we present here a general methodology for gas phase synthesis of bimetallic NPs with distinctively different structural motifs ranging at a single particle level from a fully mixed alloy to core–shell, to onion (multi-shell), and finally to a Janus/dumbbell, with the same overall particle composition. These concepts are illustrated for Mo–Cu NPs, where the precise control of the bimetallic NPs with various degrees of chemical ordering, including different shapes from spherical to cube, is achieved by tailoring the energy and thermal environment that the NPs experience during their production. The initial state of NP growth, either in the liquid or in the solid state phase, has important implications for the different structural motifs and shapes of synthesized NPs. Finally we demonstrate that we are able to tune the alloying regime, for the otherwise bulk immiscible Mo–Cu, by achieving an increase of the critical size, below which alloying occurs, closely up to an order of magnitude. It is discovered that the critical size of the NP alloy is not only affected by controlled tuning of the alloying temperature but also by the particle shape.

/pdf/tuning-structural-motifs-and-alloying-of-bulk-immiscible-mo-2czum25op5.pdf

Tuning structural motifs and alloying of bulk immiscible Mo–Cu bimetallic nanoparticles by gas-phase synthesis

[GRAPHICS] Reversible polarity-dependent resistance (PDR) switching in phase-change (PC) films is feasible. Nanometer-scale crystalline marks are produced in amorphous Ge2Sb2+xTe5 films by electrical pulses through an AFM tip. In these marks, PDR switching is demonstrated with three orders of magnitude current contrast using less than 1.5 V. No current contrast between the crystalline marks in the high-resistance state and the amorphous if background is observed.

/pdf/nanoscale-electrolytic-switching-in-phase-change-olty6tktlh.pdf

Nanoscale Electrolytic Switching in Phase‐Change Chalcogenide Films

At separations below 100 nm, Casimir-Lifshitz forces strongly influence the actuation dynamics of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) in dry vacuum conditions. For a micron-size plate oscillating near a surface, which mimics a frequently used setup in experiments with MEMS, we show that the roughness of the surfaces significantly influences the qualitative dynamics of the oscillator. Via a combination of analytical and numerical methods, it is shown that surface roughness leads to a clear increase of initial conditions associated with chaotic motion, that eventually lead to stiction between the surfaces. Since stiction leads to a malfunction of MEMS oscillators, our results are of central interest for the design of microdevices. Moreover, stiction is of significance for fundamentally motivated experiments performed with MEMS.

/pdf/nonlinear-actuation-dynamics-of-driven-casimir-oscillators-11u37kjz4t.pdf

George Palasantzas

Papers

Graphene-on-Silicon Near-Field Thermophotovoltaic Cell

Erratum: Roughness spectrum and surface width of self-affine fractal surfaces via the K-correlation model [Phys. Rev. B 48, 14472 (1993)]

Tuning structural motifs and alloying of bulk immiscible Mo–Cu bimetallic nanoparticles by gas-phase synthesis

Nanoscale Electrolytic Switching in Phase‐Change Chalcogenide Films

Nonlinear Actuation Dynamics of Driven Casimir Oscillators with Rough Surfaces