Achievement

Trainee Mark Polking investigates the size-dependent ferroelectric properties of colloidal germanium telluride (GeTe) nanocrystals under the joint direction of Prof. Alivisatos, Chemistry, and Prof. Ramesh, MSE. GeTe is an exciting multifunctional material that undergoes both a ferroelectric phase transition and a reversible amorphous-to-crystalline phase transition, making it highly attractive for the next generation of thermally stable, low-power memory applications. He developed a simple solution-phase synthesis procedure. In collaboration with IBM Almaden, LBNL, and NCEM, he analyzed the ferroelectric phase transition in these particles using a range of techniques. These experiments have revealed significant variations in the magnitude and nature of their ferroelectric ordering as a function of size. This project provides a path towards the development of self-assembled nanostructures for future memory applications that can be processed using inexpensive solution-phase methods.