Role of Surface and Interface on Transport Properties in Nanoscale Conducting Oxides
EMSL Project ID
25643
Abstract
Size-dependent (≤50 nm) chemical and physical properties of electronic materials have been attributed to primarily either intrinsic contributions, such as changes in the lattice energy and discrete energy eigenstates, or extrinsic contributions, such as unsaturated bonding of the surface atoms. Surface and interface factors can be interpreted as "surface relaxation," which plays an important role in transport properties in conducting oxides, as to alter the scattering of propagation of electron or thermal waves. One of the most intriguing perspectives in nanoscale conducting oxides is that these transport properties are often intimately conjugated; that is one property, such as thermal conductivity, is strongly coupled to a second property - electronic conductivity. Another example is the transparent conducting oxides, in which the electronic conductivity is closely related to the optical transmittance. The scientific challenge is to understand the underlying physics in structure-property relations at nanoscale, so that these properties may be decoupled to improve various technologically important applications, including oxide thermoelectrics, solid oxide fuel cells, optoelectronics, (organic) light-emitting diodes, and flat panel displays. The aim of this proposal is to investigate the role of surface and interface on transport properties in nanoscale conducting oxides. Emphasis will be placed on the thickness dependence of transport property as a function of temperature. In addition, the role of grain size will be studied to resolve the effect of grain boundaries on scattering mechanisms.
Project Details
Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Start Date
2007-05-31
End Date
2010-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members