Associate Professor (Physics and Astronomy)

Office: Clippinger 252C
Telephone: 740-593-1727
Fax: 740-593-0433
Email: hla@ohio.edu

Program Scope:

The needs to develop even smaller devices with higher functionalities continue to dominate research in large sector of nanoscience.  If the current miniaturization trends were to continue, the scale of devices will soon reach to that of single atoms and molecules.  It is therefore vital to investigate properties of single atoms/molecules to develop novel device architectures with useful functionalities.  Investigating and developing of prototype devices at single atom/molecule level require specialized instrumentation and techniques.  The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) manipulation in combination with tunneling spectroscopy measurements offer a unique opportunity to probe properties of single atoms/molecules on surfaces at an atomic limit.  Using STM tip as an analytical or engineering tool, artificial atomic-scale structures can be constructed, novel quantum phenomena can be probed, and physical, electronic and mechanical properties of single atoms/molecules can be studied at the atomic level1-5.  STM is not only an instrument used to “see” individual atoms by means of imaging, but also a tool used to “touch” and “take” atoms and molecules or to “hear” their vibrating sound by manipulations5.  In this respect, STM can be considered as the “eyes,” “hands” and “ears” of the scientists connecting our macroscopic world to the exciting atomic and nanoscopic world.

In our research projects, we combine single atom/molecule manipulation schemes with a variety of tunneling spectroscopy measurements to investigate the physical properties specific to the type of atoms on molecules on metallic surfaces.  The innovative experiments in this project are tailored to address several critical issues covering both fundamental understanding, and development of novel atoms/molecules based nano-devices.  Our diverse research areas include atom/molecule manipulation on metal and wide band-gap semiconductor surfaces, molecular spintronics, molecular electronics, single molecule switches and machines, nanobiotechnology, and the atomistic investigation of solar energy conversion for alternative energy generation.

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