IEEE S.F. Bay Area Council e-GRID's
BayAreaTech

TUESDAY June 19, 2012
SCV Nanotechnology Chapter
Speaker: Prof. Brian Hayden, Physical Chemistry, University of Southampton; Founder and Chief Science Officer, Ilika Technologies
Time: Noon
Cost: at door
Place: TI Auditorium E-1, 2900 Semiconductor Drive. Santa Clara
RSVP: from website
Web: www.ieee.org/nano

There is a pressing need for the fast and cost-effective discovery and optimization of new solid state materials for the electronics and energy sectors.  The approach taken by Ilika Technologies to fulfill this industrial need with its partners will be described.  The synthetic and screening challenges will be highlighted, and the advantages of a high-throughput thin film methodology based on molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) atomic sources with a high intensity plasma atom source will be emphasized.  Compositional gradients of both amorphous and crystalline materials including alloys (phase change memory), oxides (functional ceramics), hydrides (hydrogen storage), ion conductors (lithium ion batteries) and crystalline sulphides (photovoltaics) will be presented to demonstrate the versatility and advantages of the synthetic approach.  The scalability of the synthesis to on chip screening methodology will be highlighted, as well as the necessary characterization and informatics components of the overall workflow.  A more detailed description of how this high throughput method has been applied will be exemplified in the synthesis and screening of alloy and supported nano-particle electro-catalyst libraries.  This will emphasize both the importance of being able to synthesize non noble alloys and materials, but also the importance of the support material and the nano-particle size, both of which can critically influence catalyst activity and stability.  The potential of the synthetic methodology will also be demonstrated in the field of functional oxides, where large compositional ranges can be accessed and screened on a single chip.  The rapid thin film-based material synthesis and screening make it an ideal methodology for the discovery of new materials for nanotechnology, electronics, and clean energy.