{"302871":{"#nid":"302871","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Reimagining Silicon","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESilicon (Si) is ubiquitous in modern semiconductor manufacturing. Well-established procedures for its processing, perfected over more than five decades of industrial use, enable a diverse array of electronic devices that pervade everyday life. The highly evolved supply chain that accompanies Si\u2019s dominance also enables very low manufacturing costs. In fact, it is far cheaper to fabricate a Si-based transistor than print a single letter in a newspaper.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe specific form of Si that fuels the ongoing semiconductor revolution is known as \u201cdiamond cubic.\u201d This particular structure \u2013 the arrangement of atoms \u2013 readily forms during traditional processing. It is this structure that imparts Si with the properties that have been exploited in devices ranging from integrated circuits to solar cells. Importantly, because the properties of bulk diamond cubic Si are fixed, most think its long-term usefulness is limited. Yet this narrow view of a material\u2019s capabilities, Si or otherwise, and thus its utility in specific applications, assumes that rearranging the atoms into new structures is exceedingly difficult or impossible.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat if techniques were available to program alternative structures? What new properties would arise? What applications might these reimagined materials enable? Dr. Michael A. Filler, an assistant professor in the School of Chemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering, and his research group are asking these questions about nanomaterials in general, and Si nanowires in particular.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe promise of designing materials with entirely programmable atomic arrangements, specifically the extensive property tunability that would accompany it, is what motivates his research team. \u201cSuch a capability would allow us to rethink the structure of new and old materials alike, so that they can conduct electricity, transport heat, or absorb light in distinct ways,\u201d Filler says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFiller\u2019s research is inspired by the work of organic chemists, who apply a suite of synthetic methods, born from a basic knowledge of chemical bond breaking and forming, to create remarkably intricate functional molecules. \u201cBut unlike organic chemistry, the synthesis of most nanoscale materials is poorly understood, cannot be adequately controlled, and, as a result, yield low quality materials,\u201d comments Filler.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers frequently probe a material only after it has been made and, consequently, are unable to retrieve detailed information about the synthesis itself. \u201cWe watch the synthesis while it\u2019s taking place,\u201d Filler says.\u201d Once we have a better understanding of what\u2019s going on, we can precisely engineer the structure we want.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFiller and his graduate student Naechul Shin recently showed for the first time that the stacking of atoms in a Si nanowire could be rationally manipulated. To do this, they controlled when and where special \u201cstructure directing\u201d species attached to and covered the nanowire surface. This molecular coating forced the next layer of Si atoms to position themselves differently from the prior layer. \u201cThe rapid addition and removal of these species, whose chemical signatures we can observe in real time, allowed us to control the arrangement of Si atoms in the nanowire from one layer to the next,\u201d says Filler. His group continues to refine their approach and will begin testing the properties of this new form of Si in the near future. Filler foresees that this work will find use in fields ranging from electronics and photonics to energy conversion and catalysis.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, directing individual layers of Si atoms is just the first step, and as science and research continue to advance, Filler says there will be much more control over atomic placement in many materials. \u201cThe chemical engineers and materials scientists of the future will be able to choose the placement of every atom in a material,\u201d says Filler.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Silicon (Si) is ubiquitous in modern semiconductor manufacturing. Well-established procedures for its processing, perfected over more than five decades of industrial use, enable a diverse array of electronic devices that pervade everyday life."}],"uid":"27863","created_gmt":"2014-06-12 08:47:43","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:33","author":"Christa Ernst","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"302861":{"id":"302861","type":"image","title":"Nanowire Silicon","body":null,"created":"1449244592","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:32","changed":"1475895007","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:07","alt":"Nanowire Silicon","file":{"fid":"199595","name":"nanowire_silicon.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/nanowire_silicon_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/nanowire_silicon_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":40156,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/nanowire_silicon_0.jpg?itok=3JPkkDlc"}}},"media_ids":["302861"],"groups":[{"id":"1271","name":"NanoTECH"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"147","name":"Military Technology"},{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"}],"keywords":[{"id":"12701","name":"Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"95311","name":"M.A. Filler"},{"id":"1785","name":"nanomaterials"},{"id":"169648","name":"semiconductor manufacturing"},{"id":"168107","name":"semiconductor materials and processing"},{"id":"169649","name":"Si Nanowires"},{"id":"167355","name":"silicon"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}