In this issue:



ULVAC Technologies
Arc Plasma Deposition Systems



SPI Supplies
Sample Preparation Equipment and Consumables



Goodfellow
Metals and Materials…
from the Ordinary to the Extraordinary



Ted Pella, Inc.
Microscopy Supplies and
Specimen Preparation Tools



Harrick Plasma, Inc.
Surface Treatment



Asylum Research,
an Oxford Instruments Company

The Technology Leader in Scanning Probe/
Atomic Force
Microscopy


HORIBA Scientific
Tip Enhanced Raman Scattering (TERS) / Nano-Raman



American Elements
Now Invent.™
.



FEI Company
Fast S/TEM for 2D & 3D Chemical Analysis



Rigaku
XRD on a Benchtop


Shimadzu Scientific Instruments
New level of
EDXRF excellence



Lake Shore
Cryotronics Inc.

Precision Measurement in Variable Environments



CAMECA
SIMS, EPMA & Atom Probe Nanoanalysis



Angstrom Engineering
Thin Film Deposition Equipment and Materials




IN FOCUS

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Register On-Site in San Francisco for the 2015 MRS Spring Meeting!

Preregistration for the upcoming 2015 MRS Spring Meeting & Exhibit is now closed. But don’t worry! On-site registration begins Monday, April 6, at 7:00 am (PT) at Level 1 of the Moscone West Convention Center.

Special Note: Proceedings submission deadline EXTENDED to midnight (ET) on April 22

Call for Proposals—2016 MRS Fall Meeting

Submit your proposal for a 2016 MRS Fall Meeting symposium topic! Our goal is to plan a Meeting that includes both new, rapidly developing areas in materials science, as well as topics within the traditional core scope of the MRS Fall Meeting.

Proposal Submission Deadline—May 15

Preregistration for the 57th Electronic Materials Conference is Now Open!

57th Electronic Materials Conference (EMC 2015)
June 24-26, 2015  |  Columbus, Ohio


Register by 5:00 pm (ET) May 29 and Save!

MATERIALS NEWS

Keep up with materials research news through MRS!
Materials360 Online  |  RSS feed  |  Twitter feed

Materials in Focus


Bio Focus: Biomaterial NanoART Combats HIV
Advances in biomaterials are ultimately expected to revolutionize approaches to disease treatment by enabling a host of improved drug delivery platforms. A development in this direction has recently been demonstrated by a collaborative team of medical researchers. The researchers report that nanoformulations (i.e., nanoparticle composites comprised of small molecule drugs embedded in a polymer carrier matrix) can be harnessed to improve treatment of HIV.

China eliminates rare-earths quotas
China’s Ministry of Commerce eliminated the quota system for rare-earths exports starting in January 2015. These materials, some of which are considered critical in a broad range of high-tech applications, from consumer electronics and medical equipment to clean-energy and military applications, have been an area of scientific, industrial manufacturing, and government focus for several years.

Ceramics improve operating conditions of solid-oxide fuel cells
Solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are most efficient when they operate at high temperatures, originally around 800 to 1000°C. This is because the electrochemical processes inside the cell are thermally driven. The higher the temperature, the faster the reactions and transport rates, and the more current produced. But high operating temperatures also enhance intrinsic mechanical and structural degradation of the materials inside the cell, thus decreasing the SOFC lifetime. According to the September 2014 issue of the MRS Bulletin, the challenge of current SOFC research is to create a cell that can operate at lower temperatures (below 650°C), without sacrificing performance or reliability.

New 2D material challenges graphene
Researchers in South Korea have made a two-dimensional nitrogen-containing crystal that they say could rival graphene and silicon as a semiconductor material for electronics. The new 2D material could also find applications in energy storage and catalysis, the researchers say.

Spinning artificial spider silk remains a challenge
The silk that forms spider webs is, by weight, one of the strongest materials found in nature. Spiders can become territorial and even cannibalistic when kept in close proximity to each other, however, and the labor required to harvest their silk is too great to make the process commercially viable. Instead, scientists are studying the molecular basis for spider silk’s valuable properties with the hopes of eventually creating a commercially viable biomimetic synthetic silk fiber.

Rubbery liquid crystal sheets programmed to take on 3D shapes
Researchers have made a rubbery material that transforms from a flat sheet to complex three-dimensional shapes when triggered by heat. The material could find use in reformable antenna or shape-changing aircraft wings, says Timothy White, a senior research engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Ohio. The material is a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE), a soft elastic solid made of liquid crystal molecules chemically bonded to a rubbery polymer network.

People in Focus


John M. Carpenter Receives 2015 MRS Innovation in Materials Characterization Award
John M. Carpenter of Argonne National Laboratory is being recognized by the Materials Research Society "for innovations in neutron sources that have fundamentally changed their performance and enabled opportunities for further advancement of materials that improve the quality of life."

Chapman and Javey to receive 2015 MRS Outstanding Young Investigator (OYI) Awards
The Materials Research Society has named two award recipients—Karena W. Chapman, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), and Ali Javey, University of California, Berkeley (UC-Berkeley) to receive this year’s OYI awards.

Seth R. Marder to receive 2015 MRS Mid-Career Researcher Award
The Materials Research Society is recognizing Seth R. Marder of Georgia Institute of Technology “for establishing fundamental relationships between the chemical structure of organic molecules and their optical and electronic properties, thereby profoundly impacting how the scientific community designs optimized molecular structures for use in nonlinear optical applications.”

Sergei Kalinin awarded Royal Microscopical Society medal
Materials scientist Sergei Kalinin of the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been awarded the inaugural Medal for Scanning Probe Microscopy by the Royal Microscopical Society.

 

Industry Focus

A Breakthrough Battery Gets a Big Backer

A lithium-ion battery that stores twice as much energy is a step closer to commercialization thanks to a deal between startup Sakti3 and home appliance company Dyson. Sakti3 uses new materials and manufacturing techniques to achieve higher energy density.

Electric Propulsion Gives Small Satellites a Boost

A miniature electrical propulsion system created by startup Accion Systems could let small satellites fly in formation for cheaper imaging.

The UK's latest 'wonder material' is made from sugar beet

A Scottish startup has developed a material made from carrots and sugar beet that it claims is twice as strong as carbon fibre, and is taking on the multinationals such as Dow Chemical with its “eco” take on chemical additives.

CORPORATE PARTNER—Product News

Cryogenic Probing Solutions for Early-Stage Device R&D, MRS Spring Booth 300

Lake Shore Cryotronics will discuss its industry-leading cryogenic probing platforms at the 2015 MRS Spring Meeting. The company’s micro-manipulated probe stations enable reliable measurements of electrical, electro-optical, DC, RF and microwave properties of materials and devices at cryogenic temperatures and under the application of high magnetic field, capabilities often vital to nanoscale, semiconductor and spintronic device R&D. The high-vacuum stations are for the earliest phases of development when it is often necessary to measure smaller and fewer samples at temperatures below 10 K and in fields to over 2 T. For visitors wanting to see a cryogenic probe station up close, Lake Shore will have its Model TTPX set up in Booth 300 during the exhibit.

The Corporate Partner Program supports the Materials Research Society Foundation®.

 

OF INTEREST TO THE MATERIALS COMMUNITY

Developing world: The minority minority

Women are under-represented in physical sciences and in science in the developing world. Meet three who beat both sets of odds. More.

Physics gets its hands dirty

Is condensed-matter physics becoming more materials-oriented? Or is this just a new wrinkle in an old tradition? More.

The Next MacGyver

The “Next MacGyver” competition, sponsored by the National Academy of Engineers, is focused on catalyzing the next great TV show that will inspire young women to pursue engineering. More.

MEETINGS UPDATE

Featured Events at the 2015 MRS Spring Meeting

Several special events will be featured at the upcoming MRS Meeting in San Francisco. Below are just a few highlights. For a list of all Meeting activities, visit www.mrs.org/spring-2015-activities-events. To receive daily news from the Meeting, subscribe to the Meeting Scene.

Strange Matter Green Earth Featuring Virtual Reality (Oculus Rift)

Have fun with cutting-edge technologies, and help guide the development of the latest MRS education outreach initiative, Strange Matter Green Earth. Science exhibit experiences will be available to interact with virtual reality techniques using Oculus Rift.

The New Joint MRS/Cambridge Publications Area

MRS and Cambridge University Press, proud publishing partners, are pleased to offer Spring Meeting attendees discounted pricing on all titles from our joint Book Collection, plus over 70 materials-related titles from Cambridge University Press. Other MRS Meeting staples will be available for sale—tutorial notes, MRS Symposium Proceedings, Science as Art Notecards, and more. The Publications area is also your place to learn more about MRS journals and the MRS Publishing program. And don’t miss your chance to spin and win at the Prize Wheel!

2015 MRS Spring Meeting Exhibit

Talk directly with over 120 international exhibitors from all sectors of the global materials science and engineering communities. And while you're in the Exhibit Hall, be sure to check out the activities happening in materials2 throughout the week, including the ever-popular Science as Art Competition, caricature sketches, ice cream treats and chair massages.

Critical Meeting Deadlines

2015 MRS Spring Meeting & Exhibit
April 6-10, 2015  |  San Francisco, California

exhibit opportunities available

ON-SITE REGISTRATION OPENS
Monday, April 6, at 7:00 am,
Moscone West Convention Center
20th International Conference on
Solid State Ionics
(SSI-20)

June 14-19, 2015  |  Keystone, Colorado
PREREGISTRATION OPEN!
Register by 5:00 pm (ET) May 29 and SAVE!
73rd Device Research Conference
(DRC 2015)

June 21-24, 2015 | Columbus, Ohio

exhibit opportunities available

PREREGISTRATION OPENS SOON
57th Electronic Materials Conference
(EMC 2015)
June 24-26, 2015  |  Columbus, Ohio

exhibit opportunities available
PREREGISTRATION OPEN!
Register by 5:00 pm (ET) May 29 and SAVE!
XXIV International Materials Research Congress
(IMRC 2015)

August 16-20, 2015 | Cancun, Mexico

CALL FOR PAPERS
Abstract Submission Deadline—
April 15
2015 MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit
November 29 - December 4, 2015
Boston, Massachusetts

exhibit opportunities available

CALL FOR PAPERS
Abstract Submission Opens—
May 18
Submission Deadline—June 18
2016 MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit
November 27 - December 2, 2016
Boston, Massachusetts
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Proposal Submission Deadline—
May 15


JUST PUBLISHED

MRS Communications

Google PlayiTunes

Research Letter:
General method to synthesize ultrasmall metal oxide nanoparticle suspensions for hole contact layers in organic photovoltaic devices
Yun-Ju Lee, Jian Wang, Julia W. P. Hsu and Diego Barrera


Get your free Android App or iOS App for MRS Communications for full mobile access to this journal.

     

MRS Bulletin
Follow @MRSBulletin

Materials challenges in 3D IC technology
March 2015

Includes Energy Quarterly

Google PlayiTunes

Book Reviews
Nanotechnology in a Nutshell: From Simple to Complex Systems
Christian Ngô and Marcel Van de Voorde; reviewed by Aurelia Meghea

Conductors, Semiconductors, Superconductors: An Introduction to Solid State Physics
Rudolf P. Huebener; reviewed by K. Kamala Bharathi

Superconductors
A.V. Narlikar; reviewed by Oliver Williams

Posterminaries
Are we the world's heroes?
Steve Mos
s

MRS Bulletin’s webinar on 3D Integrated Circuits: Materials Challenges is now available on OnDemand!

Find out more about advertising in MRS Bulletin.

Journal of Materials Research
March 2015, Volume 30, Issue 6

A selection of papers:

Optical properties of Si nanowires: Dependence on substrate crystallographic orientation and light polarization
Juan A. Badán, Ricardo E. Marotti, Enrique A. Dalchiele, Daniel Ariosa, Francisco Martín, Dietmar Leinen, Efrain Ochoa and José R. Ramos-Barrado

A novel Fe2O3 rhombohedra/graphene composite as a high stability electrode for lithium-ion batteries
Yong Jiang, Xuetao Ling, Xinhui Cai, Zheng Jiao, Lingli Cheng, Lifeng Bian, Manhtai Nguyen, Yuliang Chu and Bing Zhao

Importance of dislocation pile-ups on the mechanical properties and the Bauschinger effect in microcantilevers

M.W. Kapp, C. Kirchlechner, R. Pippan and G. Dehm

Find out more about advertising in JMR.  
   

MRS Online Proceedings Library

Visit the MRS Online Proceedings Library and read about the latest research presented at MRS Meetings. Access is free to MRS members.

 

From Volume 1656, 2013 MRS Fall Meeting, Symposium PP – Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology X:

Properties and Characterization of Building Materials from the Laosicheng Ruins in Southern China
Ya Xiao, Ning Wang, Haibin Gu, Weimin Guo, Feng Gao, Ning Niu and Shaojun Liu

Investigating a Moche Cast Copper Artifact for Its Manufacturing Technology
Aaron Shugar, Michael Notis, Dale Newbury and Nicholas Ritchie

From Volume 1657, 2013 Fall Meeting, Symposium QQ – Advances in Materials Science and Engineering Education and Outreach:

Material Matters in the Physics Classroom
Chris Chiaverina

 

SCIENCE AS ART

Twisted Cities Sunrise
by Philippe K. Chow, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

An early morning electron beam sunrise over a frustrated metropolis of faceted vanadium sulfide microcrystals grown perpendicular to the flat basal plane by chemical vapor transport.

A Finalist in the Science as Art competition at the 2014 MRS Fall Meeting

Copyright for all Science as Art images belongs to the Materials Research Society. To request permission to re-use the images, please contact Anita Miller.

EDITOR'S CHOICE VIDEO

The White House

Incredible kid-ingenuity on display at the Fifth White House Science Fair

At the fifth-annual White House Science Fair, President Obama welcomed more than 100 students from more than 30 states for a celebration and showcase of their truly remarkable achievements in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).


CAREER CENTRAL

Partial listing of classified ads from the upcoming April 2015 issue of MRS Bulletin

Argonne National Laboratory
Physicist, Materials Science Division

National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)
Research Positions

Northwestern Polytechnical University
Faculty Positions, School of Materials Science & Engineering

Oklahoma State University
Faculty Position, Advanced Materials

University of Hong Kong
Professor/Associate Professor/Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering

U.S. Department of Energy
Postdoctoral Research Awards

Xi’an Jiaotong University
Faculty Positions, School of Materials Science & Engineering


NEW PRODUCTS FOCUS

New RoHS-Compliant Series of High Voltage Stacked SMPS Capacitors


AVX Corporation has introduced a new RoHS-compliant series of high voltage, DIP-leaded stacked SMPS capacitors. The new RV Series capacitors feature low ESR and ESL, low DC leakage current, high current handling capabilities, excellent high frequency performance, and exceptional capacitance retention with frequency. Available in three dielectrics and six case sizes with five maximum height dimensions, the RV Series is ideal for use in a broad range of high voltage applications, including: medical spectrometry and imaging equipment, semiconductor test equipment, power conversion and conditioning, motors and motor drives, high voltage SMPS, and both commercial and industrial detection, scanning, and quality analysis equipment.

[Contact: [email protected] or 864-967-2150]

 
New Software to Study Particle Size, Shape and Concentration in Real Time

The new iC PVM software from METTLER TOLEDO allows scientists to acquire comprehensive process knowledge by viewing particles in real time using an intuitive interface—without the need for training. Image-based trending combined with easy-to-use reporting and data management ensures critical process knowledge can easily be shared. Common applications for iC PVM include understanding crystallization; identifying growth, agglomeration, breakage and shape changes; controlling particle size and shape; monitoring polymorphic transitions; identifying the source of batch-to-batch inconsistencies; optimizing oil/water separations; and viewing particle and droplet systems in locations where offline sampling is not feasible.

[Contact: [email protected] or 800-638-8537]

To suggest items for inclusion in Industry News and New Products Focus, please contact Mary Kaufold at 724-779-2755.

ABOUT MATERIALS360®

Materials360 is edited by Judy Meiksin, News Editor, and produced by Kirby Morris, Electronic Communications Assistant, Materials Research Society.

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