Mildred S. Dresselhaus

Bio: Mildred S. Dresselhaus is an academic researcher from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Carbon nanotube & Raman spectroscopy. The author has an hindex of 136, co-authored 762 publications receiving 112525 citations. Previous affiliations of Mildred S. Dresselhaus include University of California, Los Angeles & Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.

Exploring Low Internal Reorganization Energies for Silicene Nanoclusters

Abstract: The continued miniaturization of electronics depends on our capability to engineer nanoscale heterostructures. This study focuses on the energetic response of anisotropic silicene upon injection or extraction of an electron, using density functional theory on varying armchair and zigzag edge lengths of rectangular silicene structures. The findings show that these finite structures are prone to behave as $n$-type semiconductors that could be used in low-dimensional heterojunctions. Moreover, a possible connection between the material's energetic response and the distortion of its buckled lattice is discovered, which would be attractive in designing such devices.

Boron-assisted coalescence of parallel multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Abstract: Coalescing carbon nanotubes is a major challenge for designing structures with novel physical and chemical properties and for creating three-dimensional carbon networks with improved mechanical and transport properties. We have coalesced adjacent triple walled carbon nanotubes (TWNTs) covalently, using catalytic boron atoms at high temperatures. The two outermost and then the two inner nanotubes of adjacent TWNTs merged in order to create an enlarged flattened double-walled carbon nanotube which encapsulated the two innermost single-walled carbon nanotubes.

Corrections to the Optical Transition Energies in Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes of Smaller Diameters

Abstract: Optical spectroscopy characterization of carbon nanotube samples requires accurate determination of their band structure and exciton binding energies. In this paper, we present a non-orthogonal density-functional based tight-binding calculation for the electronic transition energies in single-wall carbon nanotubes. We show that the curvature-induced rehybridization of the electronic orbitals, long-range atomic interactions, and geometrical structure relaxation all have a significant impact on the electronic transition energies in the small diameter limit. After including quasiparticle corrections and exciton binding energies, the calculated electronic transition energies show good agreement with the experimental transition energies observed by photoluminescence and resonance Raman spectroscopy.

Electric Field Effect in Atomically Thin Carbon Films

Abstract: We describe monocrystalline graphitic films, which are a few atoms thick but are nonetheless stable under ambient conditions, metallic, and of remarkably high quality. The films are found to be a two-dimensional semimetal with a tiny overlap between valence and conductance bands, and they exhibit a strong ambipolar electric field effect such that electrons and holes in concentrations up to 10 13 per square centimeter and with room-temperature mobilities of ∼10,000 square centimeters per volt-second can be induced by applying gate voltage.

Helical microtubules of graphitic carbon

Abstract: THE synthesis of molecular carbon structures in the form of C60 and other fullerenes1 has stimulated intense interest in the structures accessible to graphitic carbon sheets. Here I report the preparation of a new type of finite carbon structure consisting of needle-like tubes. Produced using an arc-discharge evaporation method similar to that used for fullerene synthesis, the needles grow at the negative end of the electrode used for the arc discharge. Electron microscopy reveals that each needle comprises coaxial tubes of graphitic sheets, ranging in number from 2 up to about 50. On each tube the carbon-atom hexagons are arranged in a helical fashion about the needle axis. The helical pitch varies from needle to needle and from tube to tube within a single needle. It appears that this helical structure may aid the growth process. The formation of these needles, ranging from a few to a few tens of nanometres in diameter, suggests that engineering of carbon structures should be possible on scales considerably greater than those relevant to the fullerenes. On 7 November 1991, Sumio Iijima announced in Nature the preparation of nanometre-size, needle-like tubes of carbon — now familiar as 'nanotubes'. Used in microelectronic circuitry and microscopy, and as a tool to test quantum mechanics and model biological systems, nanotubes seem to have unlimited potential.

The rise of graphene

Abstract: Graphene is a rapidly rising star on the horizon of materials science and condensed-matter physics. This strictly two-dimensional material exhibits exceptionally high crystal and electronic quality, and, despite its short history, has already revealed a cornucopia of new physics and potential applications, which are briefly discussed here. Whereas one can be certain of the realness of applications only when commercial products appear, graphene no longer requires any further proof of its importance in terms of fundamental physics. Owing to its unusual electronic spectrum, graphene has led to the emergence of a new paradigm of 'relativistic' condensed-matter physics, where quantum relativistic phenomena, some of which are unobservable in high-energy physics, can now be mimicked and tested in table-top experiments. More generally, graphene represents a conceptually new class of materials that are only one atom thick, and, on this basis, offers new inroads into low-dimensional physics that has never ceased to surprise and continues to provide a fertile ground for applications.

Fast parallel algorithms for short-range molecular dynamics

Abstract: Three parallel algorithms for classical molecular dynamics are presented. The first assigns each processor a fixed subset of atoms; the second assigns each a fixed subset of inter-atomic forces to compute; the third assigns each a fixed spatial region. The algorithms are suitable for molecular dynamics models which can be difficult to parallelize efficiently—those with short-range forces where the neighbors of each atom change rapidly. They can be implemented on any distributed-memory parallel machine which allows for message-passing of data between independently executing processors. The algorithms are tested on a standard Lennard-Jones benchmark problem for system sizes ranging from 500 to 100,000,000 atoms on several parallel supercomputers--the nCUBE 2, Intel iPSC/860 and Paragon, and Cray T3D. Comparing the results to the fastest reported vectorized Cray Y-MP and C90 algorithm shows that the current generation of parallel machines is competitive with conventional vector supercomputers even for small problems. For large problems, the spatial algorithm achieves parallel efficiencies of 90% and a 1840-node Intel Paragon performs up to 165 faster than a single Cray C9O processor. Trade-offs between the three algorithms and guidelines for adapting them to more complex molecular dynamics simulations are also discussed.

The electronic properties of graphene

Abstract: This article reviews the basic theoretical aspects of graphene, a one-atom-thick allotrope of carbon, with unusual two-dimensional Dirac-like electronic excitations. The Dirac electrons can be controlled by application of external electric and magnetic fields, or by altering sample geometry and/or topology. The Dirac electrons behave in unusual ways in tunneling, confinement, and the integer quantum Hall effect. The electronic properties of graphene stacks are discussed and vary with stacking order and number of layers. Edge (surface) states in graphene depend on the edge termination (zigzag or armchair) and affect the physical properties of nanoribbons. Different types of disorder modify the Dirac equation leading to unusual spectroscopic and transport properties. The effects of electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions in single layer and multilayer graphene are also presented.