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Nanostructures Center of Economic Excellence
Inception: About the Center: A component of the University of South Carolina (USC) Nanocenter, the Center concentrates on research in experimental nanoscale physics and is positioning the state to compete in the global future electronics market. The program has five major focus areas: (1) synthesis/characterization of nanowires in metals and semiconductors for novel magnetism in electronic circuits; (2) development of high-power LEDs, transistors, and optoelectric properties of materials; (3) development of nanomagnetics, high-frequency switching, and spintronics; (4) development of novel superconducting states/materials; and (5) discovery of novel concepts for nanoscale sensors for magnetic and structural properties. The Center’s research achievements include progress in understanding the “oherence in magnetic nanostructures and the importance of biological systems in potential electronic applications. To date, the Center has received more than $4 million in federal and private research funding. In 2008, the U.S. Army Research Office renewed its funding for the Center’s sensors program. Center of Economic Excellence faculty, along with 16 national and international scientists, are forming an international materials institute with a concentration in Nanomechanics in Novel Materials. The institute has garnered a number of industrial partners, including a new industrial partnership with IBM T.J. Watson Research Center regarding magnetic tunnel junctions used for information storage. IBM supplies the devices while researchers conduct measurements. In 2010, this Center formed a new collaboration with Hitachi Global Storage Technologies in California to study nanoscale devices that show promise for the magnetic recording industry. The company provides a wide range of products and services that store, preserve, and manage data to include advanced hard disk drives, enterprise-class solid state drives, and innovative external storage solutions and services. Funding level: SmartState Endowed Chair:
Drs. Soumitra Ghoshroy and Douglas Blom of the Nanostructures Center use the JEOL 2100F aberration-corrected STEM to study the composition and structure of nanomaterials in USC’s Electron Microscopy Center.
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