Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/L68209/01
Title:	ELECTRONIC AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF METAL/DISCOTIC LIQUID CRYSTAL HYBRID DEVICES
Principal Investigator:	Boden, Professor N
Other Investigators:	Shen, Dr T Kelsall, Professor RW Movaghar, Dr B Evans, Professor S Howson, Professor M
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Centre for Molecular Nanoscience
Organisation:	University of Leeds
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 June 1998	Ends:	30 November 2001	Value (£):	160,064
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Materials Characterisation
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Electronics
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
A new class of devices in which quantum confined, two-dimensional, electronic fluids are in electrical contact with a self-organising columnar discotic liquid crystal film will be fabricated and their transport and optical properties characterised. The liquid crystal film, comprising a two-dimensional array of columns of disc-like molecules, will be either vacuum deposited or cast from solution on top of metallic or magnetic layers of thickness 1-10 nm, grown by MBE. These will have molecular structures based on either triphenylene or phthalocyanine cores which have diameters of the order of 0.8 nm and intercolumnar distances ranging from 1.5 to 3 nm. Electronic coupling of the molecular cores to metal surface wave-functions will give rise to two-dimensional electronic sub-bands. The source-drain current - gate voltage characteristic and the magnetoresistance will be investigated. Brewster angle reflectivity measurements will provide information about dielectric properties of the metal / discotic interface. Interfacial and transport properties will be modelled and evaluated using both analytic and numerical Monte-Carlo techniques. This knowledge will be used to develop a new kind of sensor architecture in which self-organisation and functionality can be linked to quantum well, superlattice and magnetic sub-band structures. Its practicality for sensing chemicals and heat will be evaluated.
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Organisation Website:	http://www.leeds.ac.uk