CONDENSED-MATTER AND MATERIALS PHYSICS: THE SCIENCE OF THE WORLD AROUND US
AN INTERIM REPORT
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Contract No. DE-FG02-05ER46206 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Department of Energy and Grant No. DMR-0205071 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
Cover (clockwise from upper left): (1) Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a copper wiring stack on a silicon chip, courtesy of IBM Corporation. IBM’s introduction of high-performance copper wiring technology to microelectronics manufacturing in 1997 was based on decades of research in materials physics. (2) Electron flow paths in a two-dimensional electron gas, courtesy of Eric J. Heller, Harvard University. (3) Colorized transmission electron micrograph of self-assembled gold nanochains on copolymer film, courtesy of Ward Lopes and Heinrich Jaeger, University of Chicago. (4) Schematic of theoretically predicted boron nitride nanotube, reprinted with permission from Marvin L. Cohen, Physics Today, June 2006, p. 52, copyright 2006, American Institute of Physics. (5) Droplet fission—a drop of water in the process of breaking apart, courtesy of Sidney Nagel and Xiangdong Shi, University of Chicago. (6) Scanning electron micrograph of an echinoderm skeletal element, courtesy of Joanna Aizenberg, Bell Labs. The entire structure is one single crystal of calcite with an intricate, genetically controlled micro/nano-porosity.
Additional copies of this report are available from the
National Academies Press,
500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet, http://www.nap.edu; and the Board on Physics and Astronomy, National Research Council, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20001; Internet, http://www.national-academies.org/bpa.
Copyright 2006 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.
COMMITTEE ON CMMP 2010
MILDRED S. DRESSELHAUS,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Co-chair
WILLIAM J. SPENCER,
SEMATECH (retired),
Co-chair
GABRIEL AEPPLI,
University College London
SAMUEL D. BADER,
Argonne National Laboratory
WILLIAM BIALEK,
Princeton University
DAVID J. BISHOP,
Bell Laboratories/Lucent Technologies
ANTHONY K. CHEETHAM,
University of California at Santa Barbara
JAMES P. EISENSTEIN,
California Institute of Technology
HIDETOSHI FUKUYAMA,
Tokyo University of Science
LAURA GARWIN,
Harvard University
PETER F. GREEN,
University of Michigan
FRANCES HELLMAN,
University of California at Berkeley
RANDALL G. HULET,
Rice University
HEINRICH M. JAEGER,
University of Chicago
STEVEN A. KIVELSON,
Stanford University
ANDREA J. LIU,
University of Pennsylvania
PAUL McEUEN,
Cornell University
KARIN M. RABE,
Rutgers University
THOMAS N. THEIS,
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
Staff
DONALD C. SHAPERO, Director
NATALIA J. MELCER, Program Officer
PHILLIP D. LONG, Senior Program Assistant
VAN AN, Financial Associate
SOLID STATE SCIENCES COMMITTEE
PETER F. GREEN,
University of Michigan,
Chair
BARBARA JONES,
IBM Almaden Research Center,
Vice-chair
COLLIN L. BROHOLM,
Johns Hopkins University
ROBERT J. CAVA,
Princeton University
ELBIO DAGOTTO,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
DUANE DIMOS,
Sandia National Laboratories
JAMES P. EISENSTEIN,
California Institute of Technology
SHARON C. GLOTZER,
University of Michigan
MARC A. KASTNER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
STEVEN A. KIVELSON,
Stanford University
SIDNEY R. NAGEL,
University of Chicago
MONICA OLVERA DE LA CRUZ,
Northwestern University
ARTHUR P. RAMIREZ,
Lucent Technologies, Inc.
A. DOUGLAS STONE,
Yale University
ANTOINETTE TAYLOR,
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Staff
DONALD C. SHAPERO, Director
NATALIA J. MELCER, Program Officer
PHILLIP D. LONG, Senior Program Assistant
VAN AN, Financial Associate
BOARD ON PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
ANNEILA I. SARGENT,
California Institute of Technology,
Chair
MARC A. KASTNER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Vice-chair
JOANNA AIZENBERG,
Lucent Technologies
JONATHAN A. BAGGER,
Johns Hopkins University
JAMES E. BRAU,
University of Oregon
RONALD C. DAVIDSON,
Princeton University
RAYMOND J. FONCK,
University of Wisconsin at Madison
ANDREA M. GHEZ,
University of California at Los Angeles
PETER F. GREEN,
University of Michigan
WICK C. HAXTON,
University of Washington
FRANCES HELLMAN,
University of California at Berkeley
JOSEPH HEZIR,
EOP Group, Inc.
ERICH P. IPPEN,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ALLAN H. MacDONALD,
University of Texas at Austin
CHRISTOPHER F. McKEE,
University of California at Berkeley
HOMER A. NEAL,
University of Michigan
JOSE N. ONUCHIC,
University of California at San Diego
WILLIAM D. PHILLIPS,
National Institute of Standards and Technology
THOMAS N. THEIS,
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
C. MEGAN URRY,
Yale University
Staff
DONALD C. SHAPERO, Director
TIMOTHY I. MEYER, Senior Program Officer
MICHAEL H. MOLONEY, Senior Program Officer
ROBERT L. RIEMER, Senior Program Officer
NATALIA J. MELCER, Program Officer
BRIAN D. DEWHURST, Senior Program Associate
DAVID B. LANG, Research Assistant
PAMELA A. LEWIS, Program Associate
PHILLIP D. LONG, Senior Program Assistant
VAN AN, Financial Associate
PREFACE
The National Research Council of the National Academies recently established the Committee on CMMP 2010: An Assessment of and Outlook for Condensed-Matter and Materials Physics to study the opportunities and challenges in condensed-matter and materials physics (CMMP) in the next decade. The Solid State Sciences Committee (SSSC) of the Board on Physics and Astronomy developed the charge for this study in consultation with the study’s sponsors at the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. The CMMP 2010 committee has been asked to review recent accomplishments and new opportunities in the field; identify its potential future impact on other scientific fields; consider how it contributes to meeting national societal needs; identify, discuss, and suggest priorities for construction, purchase, and operation of tools and facilities; examine the structure and level of the current research effort and funding; and make recommendations on how to realize the full potential of CMMP research. The committee’s final report is part of the ongoing Physics 2010 survey, the latest decadal assessment of and future outlook for the field of physics conducted under the auspices of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies.
This short interim report serves as a summary of the committee’s thoughts on grand challenges in condensed-matter and materials physics in the coming decade and provides a brief look at the international landscape. The grand challenges will be discussed in detail in the committee’s final report.
In preparing for the decadal survey of CMMP, the SSSC called on the community for input on opportunities and challenges in the field. This input was compiled and presented to the CMMP 2010 committee at its first meeting in February 2006. In addition, the committee received direct input from the community at three town meetings held at professional society meetings—the first at the March meeting of the American Physical Society in Baltimore, Maryland, in March 2006; the second at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society in Atlanta, Georgia, in March 2006; and the third at the spring meeting of the Materials Research Society in San Francisco, California, in April 2006. The committee also solicited community input through nine focus groups at universities and national laboratories, each with an attendance of between 10 and 15 researchers, and through a public website, and it will continue to welcome input for as long as possible following the release of this interim report.
To address its full charge and expand on the challenges presented in this interim report, the committee is continuing to collect data on funding and international activities and is considering the impact of CMMP on security, health, energy, and the economy. It looks forward to sharing its findings and recommendations with the broader scientific community and its sponsors, with the release of its final report in the spring of 2007.
Mildred Dresselhaus
Co-chair
William Spencer
Co-chair
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF REVIEWERS
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Elihu Abrahams, Rutgers University
Frank Bates, University of Minnesota
Gordon Baym, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Arthur I. Bienenstock, Stanford University
J.C. Séamus Davis, Cornell University
Barbara Jones, IBM Almaden Research Center
Marc A. Kastner, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Hyla S. Napadensky, Napadensky Energetics, Inc.
Julia M. Phillips, Sandia National Laboratories
Peter G. Wolynes, University of California at San Diego
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Venkatesh Narayanamurti, Harvard University. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.