David H Cobden
Department of Physics
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
http://faculty.washington.edu/cobden

Abstract

Experiments on phase transitions in nanostructures

Nanotechnology presents opportunities to study the counterparts of well known physics in new regimes.  For a number of reasons, phase transitions in nanoscale systems are expected to look rather different from those in the bulk, if indeed they even exist.  We are studying both electronic phase transitions, using nanostructures of a strongly correlated material (vanadium dioxide), and solid-liquid-vapor transitions, using adsorbed monolayers on suspended carbon nanotubes.  In the electronic case, we find that it is possible to investigate basic properties of the transition that are obscured by the complexity of the bulk material.  In the cylindrical monolayers we find dramatic transitions that resemble those well known on graphite but with subtle differences, some of which may reflect the unique quasi-one dimensional geometry of the nanotube surface.

Come meet the speaker over coffee and refreshments from 3:45-4:10 pm in the foyer on floor G above the lecture hall.   All Welcome.  Host: Chuanwei Zhang