Center for Materials by Design • Theoretical Design • Material synthesis • Properties • Applications There is an empty niche in material research in the US which used to be filled by Bell Labs, IBM, etc.: curiosity driven fundamental research. Almost all grant and industrial funded research in the world is incremental. This fits into our existing strengths, high- pressure research, X-ray, neutron, and spectroscopic microanalysis Superconductors, photovoltaics, energy harvesting, pyroelectrics, multiferroics, armor materials, chemical sensing, …
Transcript
Center for Materials by Design
• Theoretical Design• Material synthesis• Properties• Applications
There is an empty niche in material research in the US which used to be filled by Bell Labs, IBM, etc.: curiosity driven fundamental research.
Almost all grant and industrial funded research in the world is incremental.
This fits into our existing strengths, high-pressure research, X-ray, neutron, and spectroscopic microanalysis
Superconductors, photovoltaics, energy harvesting, pyroelectrics, multiferroics, armor materials, chemical sensing, …
Examples of new materials by design
• Ordered polar oxynitrides– We predicted materials such as YSiO2N would have large non-
linear optic coefficients• Applications as frequency doublers, communications, optical
computing.• No one has made it—insufficient resources for such exploratory work.
• High coupling piezoelectrics designed using the concept of chemical pressure– Pb(Sn,Ti)O3 and Pb(Sn,Zr)O3
– Lattice matched to SrTiO3
• Ideal for artificial insect wings
Ronald Cohen: Materials by Design
P(P4mm) = 0.54 C/m2 ,
ECm – EP4mm = -5 meV/at
Polarization RotationNature 2000
MPB under pressureNature 2008
YSiO2NAPL 2007
PbSnTiO3 on SrTiO3
High Power Density Bimorph Actuator (Oct. 2007)
Dynamometer testing shows energy delivery of 19 uJ per cycle from a 10 mg PZT bimorph actuator, with power delivery of > 450 W/kg at 270 Hz. (By comparison, the smallest motor available at 70 mg has power density < 100 W/kg).Steltz&Fearing, IROS 2007
Designing new Piezocrystals for transducers using chemical pressure
1. As a test of new methods to predict piezoelectric constants we tried the classic ferroelectric PbTiO3, and then used the code to predict piezoelectric constants under pressure.
2. We found surprising an unexpected morphotropic phase boundary under pressure, with piezoelectric constants higher than any known material. (Published in Physical Review Letters, Wu and Cohen, 2005)
3. We performed cryogenic high pressure Raman and high resolution synchrotron X-ray experiments to verify the theory. (Published in Nature, Ahart et al., 2008)
4. We are now using the idea if chemical pressure to find new materials with large electromechanical coupling under ambient conditions.
2. Prediction of large coupling under pressure
3. Experimental verification
4. New materials
Costs for Materials by Design
Near Term (1-3 years) $1M synthesis lab, $150K/year chemical engineer support staff, $150K/year scientific programmer , $60K/year computer administrator (shared)
Intermediate Term (5 years) $2M supercomputer, visualization wall $500K
Long term (10 years) $150K/year chemical engineer support staff, $150K/year scientific programmer, supplies and computer upgrades $299K/year
Possible leveraging: DCO, NSF innovative cyber-infrastructure, long-term: patent licensing profits
