MATERIALS SCIENCE COLLOQUIUM

Refreshments will be served at 10:45 a.m.

ABSTRACT: A new generation of multifunctional oxides and the well known ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) thin films are yielding new physics and providing the bases for a new generation of micro/nano-electronics and biomedical devices and biosystems that will make a major impact in micro/nano-electronics and in the health and way of life of people worldwide. This talk will focus on an overview of the science, technology, and engineering of new multifunctional oxides and new physical phenomena in UNCD thin films investigated, developed and patented at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) during the last fifteen years, and their integration into devices and systems as described below:

1. Science and technology of complex oxide thin films applicable to two key technologies: a) Novel TiO₂/Al₂O₃ superlattices, exhibit giant dielectric constant (up to k=1000), low leakage current (10^-7-10^-9 A/cm²) and low losses (≤ tang d=0.04), based on new physics underlined by the Maxwell-Wagner relaxation mechanism explaining the giant dielectric constant, which may enable a new generation of microchip embedded capacitors for microchips implantable in the human body, the next generation of gates for nanoscale CMOS devices, and super-capacitors for energy storage systems; b) NiO nanolaminates having partially filled 3d bands and exhibiting resistive switching due to the dominant effect of strong electronic correlations sustaining a Mott insulator-conductor transition, based on NiO as active material with direct metal-extrinsic ligand bonds or carbonyl (CO) based complexes that ensures Ni ²⁺.fixed coordination number in the MO₆ structure. The quantum mechanical phenomena enabled by the new doped NiO provides the basis for a new high-density non-volatile resistive change memory named correlated electron random access memory (CeRAM) under development in a joint Symetrix Corporation-Argonne R&D program, directed by Carlos Paz de Araujo and O. Auciello.
2. New Science and technology of a novel Ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) film developed and patented at Argonne: This part of the talk will focus on an overview of a new bias enhanced nucleation-bias enhanced growth process for synthesis of UNCD films and new electronic and biological behavior of UNCD films enabling a new generation of microelectromechanical/nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) and implantable biomedical devices, namely: a) new research on UNCD film as a dielectric material with a novel fast charging/discharging behavior, which enabled for the first time a fully functional RF-MEMS switch driven by an integrated CMOS device for a new generation of RF MEMS switches for electronic radar and mobile communication devices; b) integration of piezoelectric oxide/ electrically conductive UNCD layers to enable a new NEMS switch-based logic to replace the transistor-based logic for systems requiring extremely low energy consumption; c) UNCD as bioinert/biocompatible coating for artificial heart valves; dental implants; devices to drain eye liquid for treatment of glaucoma; for encapsulation of magnets located outside the eye to produce magnetic fields to attract superparamagnetic nanoparticles injected in the eye to reattach detached retina; for artificial joints (hips and knees); and as a platform for growing stem cells and induce differentiation into many other cells of the human body.
3. Brief Overview of Commercialization of UNCD Film Technology through Advanced Diamond Technologies (a company co-founded by O. Auciello and J.A. Carlisle and spun-off from ANL in 2003), now shipping products to market, namely: a) UNCD-coated mechanical pump seals for the petrochemical, pharmaceutical and car industries; b) UNCD-coated bearings for mixers for the pharmaceutical industry (adopted by Merck-Millipore in 2011); c) UNCD electrodes for water purification, which outperform all other electrodes in the market today; d) UNCD-AFM tips, with practically no wear, for science and nanofabrication.

The R&D discussed in this talk shows that multifunctional oxide and nanocarbon films provide unique platforms for the next generation of multifunctional devices and systems in many technological fields.