Project Details
Description
This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Wearable devices made of two-dimensional (2D) materials based on atomically thin crystals such as graphene promise to revolutionize modern microelectronics by enabling high flexibility, intrinsic thinness, and unprecedented device performance. However, one significant challenge to the advancement of diverse and transformative applications is gaining control over thermal transport. For example, thermal transport needs to be increased to compensate for the heating issue caused by the reduced thermal conductivity at high levels of stress and decreased for efficient thermoelectric energy conversion and thermal insulation devices. The overarching goal of this research is to achieve efficient, in-situ, and reversible thermal control via manipulating 2D materials’ Moiré patterns, which are created by adjusting the relative twist angle of mismatching crystal lattice between the two 2D materials. The knowledge learned will potentially push the thermal modulation limits in skin-like wearable devices made of atomically thin 2D materials, and enable modern devices from beyond-Si electronics and sensors to superconducting thermal switches. This project will tightly integrate research, education and outreach, with interactive games, workshops, novel curriculum, hands-on research mentoring, and research tool sharing to engage students in thermal technology.The proposed research aims to create new knowledge about crystal lattice order enabled thermal transport and develop twist angle tuning as a powerful strategy for thermal modulation. The twist angle tuning method applied to 2D Moiré pattern structured materials provides an in-situ, continuous and reversible tuning strategy without the need for changing the materials’ chemical composition, thereby bypassing the challenges associated with traditional wearable devices. Experimental approaches of materials synthesis, device nanofabrication and thermal characterization are emphasized and reinforced by analytical modeling. By systematically varying twist angle as well as the 2D Moiré patterns’ mechanical deformation and global geometry, in-depth understanding of lattice orders, lattice constants, geometry and thermal conductivity will be uncovered. Such knowledge will be a major leap in fundamental understanding of thermal physics, establish thermal modulation principles to achieve desired thermal transport outcomes, and revolutionize future wearable device platforms.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Status | Active |
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Effective start/end date | 1/07/22 → 30/06/27 |
Funding
- National Science Foundation
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