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Nanostructures can pose big measurement problems
April 30, 2007
Materials scientists will tell you that to best understand, characterize and eventually utilize the properties of a specific material, you have to be able to define how the atoms within it are arranged. In the case of common crystals, there are numerous methods, such as X-ray diffraction, by which this can be done. Not so for nanostructured materials (structures with atomic arrangements at a scale of 1-100 nanometers, or between 5 to 1,000 atoms in size) where the inability to determine atomic order with high precision has been dubbed the "nanostructure problem." In a paper published in the April 27 Science,* researchers Igor Levin at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Simon J.L. Billinge at Michigan State University reviewed various classes of nanostructured materials, listed the array of methods currently used to study their atomic makeup and defined the problems inherent with each one. Overall, the authors state that while many methods exist for probing the atomic structure on the nanoscale, no single technique can provide a unique structural solution.
The authors conclude their paper by calling for a coordinated effort by researchers to develop a coherent strategy for a comprehensive solution of the "nanostructure problem" using inputs from multiple experimental methods and theory.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
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The advent of semiconductor structures whose characteristic dimensions are smaller than the mean free path of carriers has led to the development of novel devices, and advances in theoretical understanding of mesoscopic systems or nanostructures. This book has been thoroughly revised and provides a much-needed update on the very latest experimental research into mesoscopic devices and develops a detailed theoretical framework for understanding their behavior. Beginning with the key observable phenomena in nanostructures, the authors describe quantum confined systems, transmission in nanostructures, quantum dots, and single electron phenomena. Separate chapters are devoted to interference in diffusive transport, temperature decay of fluctuations, and non-equilibrium transport and...
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Nanostructures refer to materials that have relevant dimensions on the nanometer length scales and reside in the mesoscopic regime between isolated atoms and molecules in bulk matter. These materials have unique physical properties that are distinctly different from bulk materials. "Self-Assembled Nanostructures" provides systematic coverage of basic nanomaterials science, including materials assembly and synthesis, characterization, and application. Suitable for both beginners and experts, it balances the chemistry aspects of nanomaterials with physical principles. It also highlights nanomaterial-based architectures including assembled or self-assembled systems. Filled with in-depth discussion of important applications of nano-architectures as well as potential applications ranging from...
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This book contains selected, extended papers presented in the thematic ECCOMAS conference on Composites with Micro- and Nano-Structure (CMNS) â Computational Modelling and Experiments held in Liptovský MikuláÅ¡, Slovakia, in May 28 to 31, 2007, as well as three other papers. Recent experimental and computational results demonstrate that materials reinforced with stiff particles and fibres can obtain substantial improvements in stiffness, thermal conductivity and electro-magnetic properties. Materials reinforced with fibres can have very different properties in different directions. With these new materials the importance of computational simulations and experimental verifications also increases. The book contains atomistic and continuum numerical methods and...
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