Carbon materials are unique in terms of the rich variety of allotropes (e.g., graphene, carbon nanotubes, fullerenes) in the material family. From the perspectives of optoelectronics and electronics, carbon materials have great potentials (e.g., high mobility, low cost, and large area) but have yet made substantial impacts due to various reasons. Therefore, this topic focuses on novel ways of utilizing carbon materials for optoelectronic and electronic applications, such as infrared sensing, RF electronics, and solar energy harvest. One example is to apply a novel physical concept, such as plasmonics, on graphene and carbon nanotubes to investigate its potential in infrared sensing. Another route is to carefully design carbon heterostructures to tailor the optical absorption by mixing various carbon allotropes. On the other hand, materials such as transition metal dichalcogenides (e.g., MoS₂, WSe₂) and boron nitride have recently found research interests in their two-dimensional (2D) form. They form a variety of allotropes similar to carbon and are attractive in applications of optoelectronics and electronics. It is interesting to study the heterostructures formed with various 2D materials and their allotropes. The goal of this project is to generate innovative concepts on carbon-based optoelectronics and electronics for the interests of the Air Force and DOD.

 

References

Bonaccorso F, Sun Z, Hasan T, Ferrari AC: Nature Photonics 4: 611, 2010

Wang QH, et al: Nature Nanotechnology 7: 699, 2012

 

Keywords:

Carbon; Graphene; 2D; Carbon nanotube; Transition metal dichalcogenide; Boron nitride; MoS2; WSe2;

Citizenship:  Open to U.S. citizens

Level:  Open to Postdoctoral and Senior applicants