Charles (Chuck) Black
CFN Director and Senior Scientist, Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Bldg. 735
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000
(631) 344-4397
ctblack@bnl.gov
I am the Director of the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) at Brookhaven National Laboratory, where I am also a Senior Scientist. The CFN is a national scientific user facility, which we operate for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as a resource for the worldwide scientific community. Each year, the CFN supports the science of more than 700 researchers from around the world — from universities, industry, and national laboratories. I am also currently leading a, major DOE project to modernize the U.S. nanoscience infrastructure by developing and installing new instrumentation across the six national laboratories in the DOE complex.
Prior to becoming Director, I was Group Leader for Electronic Nanomaterials in the CFN, responsible for managing the staff and setting group research directions using nanostructured electronic materials for clean energy.
From 1996 to 2006, I was a Research Staff Member at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, where my collaborators and I pioneered using polymer self-assembly for high-resolution patterning in semiconductor electronics.
Expertise | Education | Appointments | Publications | Awards
Expertise
In my 25-year career so far, I have at different times performed research in: nanomaterials for solar applications; polymer self-assembly for high-resolution patterning; superconductivity of nanoscale materials; nanocrystal-based materials and devices; low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy; and ferroelectric non-volatile memories.
Education
I earned a Ph.D. degree in Physics from Harvard University in 1996, studying with Professor Michael Tinkham. I earned B.S. degrees in Physics and Mathematics from Vanderbilt University in 1991.
Professional Appointments
- 2016– DIRECTOR, Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven Lab
- 2019– PROJECT DIRECTOR, Brookhaven National Laboratory. The DOE Nanoscale Science Research Centers Recapitalization project will modernize the U.S. nanoscience infrastructure.
- 2006–16 GROUP LEADER, Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven Lab
- 2015– SENIOR SCIENTIST, Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven Lab
- 2006–15 SCIENTIST, Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory
- 1999–2006 RESEARCH STAFF MEMBER, Physical Sciences, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center
- 1996–99 RESEARCH STAFF MEMBER, Silicon Technology, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center
- 1992–96 GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT, Harvard University
Selected Publications
- Liu M, Black CT (2024) Performance analysis of superconductor-constriction-superconductor transmon qubits. Physical Review A 110:. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.110.012427
- Zhang W, Bollinger AT, Li R, et al (2021) Thin-film synthesis of superconductor-on-insulator A15 vanadium silicide. Scientific Reports 11:. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82046-1
- Liapis AC, Rahman A, Black CT (2017) Self-assembled nanotextures impart broadband transparency to glass windows and solar cell encapsulants. Applied Physics Letters 111:183901. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5000965
- Rahman A, Ashraf A, Xin H, et al (2015) Sub-50-nm self-assembled nanotextures for enhanced broadband antireflection in silicon solar cells. Nature Communications 6:. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6963
- Checco A, Rahman A, Black CT (2013) Robust Superhydrophobicity in Large-Area Nanostructured Surfaces Defined by Block-Copolymer Self Assembly. Advanced Materials 26:886–891. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201304006
- Manfrinato VR, Stein A, Zhang L, et al (2017) Aberration-Corrected Electron Beam Lithography at the One Nanometer Length Scale. Nano Letters 17:4562–4567. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b00514
- Black CT, Ruiz R, Breyta G, et al (2007) Polymer self assembly in semiconductor microelectronics. IBM Journal of Research and Development 51:605–633. https://doi.org/10.1147/rd.515.0605
- Black CT, Guarini KW, Milkove KR, et al (2001) Integration of self-assembled diblock copolymers for semiconductor capacitor fabrication. Applied Physics Letters 79:409–411. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1383805
- Black CT, Murray CB, Sandstrom RL, Sun S (2000) Spin-Dependent Tunneling in Self-Assembled Cobalt-Nanocrystal Superlattices. Science 290:1131–1134. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.290.5494.1131
- Black CT, Ralph DC, Tinkham M (1996) Spectroscopy of the Superconducting Gap in Individual Nanometer-Scale Aluminum Particles. Physical Review Letters 76:688–691. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.76.688
Awards & Recognition
From 2015–17, I was a Member of the Board of Directors of the Materials Research Society. I am a Fellow of the American Physical Society and a Senior Member of the IEEE.
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Bldg. 735
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000
(631) 344-4397
ctblack@bnl.gov
