*In this photo:* Dr. Mukti Rana has been awarded a $239,947 grant by the Clarkson Aerospace Inc. to do subcontract research work in connection with two-dimensional materials and device development.

On Campus

Dr. M. Rana awarded a 2D materials research grant

Monday, February 21, 2022

Delaware State University recently received a $239,947 two-year grant from Clarkson Aerospace Corp. of Houston, Texas.

Delaware State has joined other universities as a subcontractor for the grant awarded by The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) to work on new two-dimensional (2D) materials and devices development.

The University’s Dr. Mukti Rana, Professor of Engineering, is the principal investigator of the grant entitled “Controlling properties of 2D materials using ferroelectric thin films”.

The research will involve the novel use of a thin film of ferroelectric Calcium Lead Titanate (FE) as an intermediate layer in between a single or monolayer thick transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC) and traditional substrates that serves as a supportive substance. While the traditional substrate can affect the characteristics of the TMDC, the research will investigate how the excess charges of the FE could be used to nullify the traditional substrate impacts and to operate and control the characteristics of the TMDCs.

This project is expected to yield new scientific knowledge and understanding on how the FE properties (polarization) can control the electrical and optical properties of TMDCs. This will help to develop tunable optical devices such as filters and absorbers, ultra-low power electronics, nonvolatile memory, and programmable logic devices aligned with the U.S. Department of Defense mission.

Dr. Rana will collaborate with Pennsylvania State University where the TMDC thin films will be synthesized.