National Synchrotron Light Source and Materials Science Department Seminar

Quasi one-dimensional metals and semiconductors are interesting from both the fundamental and the applied physics perspective. There are several unresolved fundamental issues in quasi-1D materials, including the need to quantify their plastic properties, and a lack of thorough understanding of electron injection from normal metal phase into the charge density wave phase. We have successfully used microdiffraction to study the plastic properties and the variation in pinning strength of charge density waves. We have also developed a novel contact technology, which allows for better control of the current injection and of collective transport into these anisotropic materials. This method shows promise for scaling down for use with nanowires. Lastly, I will discuss some perspectives in noise and infrared spectroscopy that are part of our ongoing research efforts.