Thin Films & Nanomaterials

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Vanderbilt researchers have developed a new system for transporting and sorting nanoscale and mesoscale particles and biomolecules. The system is able to achieve size-based sorting and captures/arranges the particles within a few seconds, which is significantly faster than the existing method of diffusion-based transport.

Vanderbilt researchers have developed a method for forming a film of lanthanide oxide nanoparticles using electrophoretic deposition. This technique is straightforward to set up and provides thickness control at high deposition rates, enabling site selective particle assembly for any size and shape.

Vanderbilt inventors have developed a new class of liquid crystals with high dielectric anisotropy. A new class of liquid crystals containing boron in their structure has been developed with high dielectric anisotropy, which results in low threshold voltages.

Phase change materials (PCMs) are a fascinating class of materials that can change certain material properties (e.g., absorbance or reflectivity) upon the application of a stimulus. Researchers at Vanderbilt University have used a PCM to create a novel metamaterial that can be reconfigured for use in a wide range of potential optical and integrated photonic applications from the infrared to terahertz spectral domain.