Walter de Heer | |
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| Born | Walter Alexander de Heer |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | condensed matter physics,metal clusters,carbon nanotubes,graphene |
| Institutions | École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne,Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Doctoral advisor | Walter D. Knight |
Walter Alexander "Walt" de Heer (born November 1949) is a Dutch physicist andnanoscience researcher known for discoveries in theelectronic shell structure ofmetal clusters, magnetism intransition metal clusters,field emission andballistic conduction incarbon nanotubes, andgraphene-based electronics.
De Heer earned adoctoral degree inphysics from theUniversity of California, Berkeley, in 1986 under the supervision ofWalter D. Knight. He worked at theÉcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne inSwitzerland from 1987 to 1997, and is currently aRegents' Professor of Physics at theGeorgia Institute of Technology. He directs the Epitaxial Graphene Laboratory in the School of Physics and leads the Epitaxial Graphene Interdisciplinary Research Group at the Georgia TechMaterials Research Science and Engineering Center.
De Heer and his research groups have made significant contributions to several important areas innanoscopic physics. As a graduate student at UC-Berkeley, he participated in groundbreaking research onalkali metal clusters that demonstrated theelectronic shell structure ofmetal clusters.[1] This is a property of small metal clusters composed of few atoms that develop atom-like electronic properties (these clusters are also referred to assuperatoms). In Switzerland, he developed methods of measuring the magnetic properties of cold metal clusters and described howmagnetism develops in these clusters as their size increases from atomic to bulk.[2] He is the author of the most highly cited[3] review articles on metallic clusters.[4]
De Heer turned tocarbon nanotubes in 1995, showing that they are excellentfield emitters, with potential application toflat panel displays.[5] In 1998, he discovered that carbon nanotubes areballistic conductors at room temperature,[6][7] meaning that they conduct electrons over relatively large distances without resistance. This is a key selling point of nanotube- and graphene-based electronics.
His nanotube work led to consideration of the properties of "opened" carbon nanotubes and the development ofgraphene-based electronics, starting in 2001.[8][9] Anticipating that patterned graphene structures would behave like interconnected carbon nanotubes,[8] he proposed several avenues of graphene preparation, including exfoliation of graphite flakes to oxidizedsilicon wafers andepitaxial growth onsilicon carbide.[8] The latter was deemed most promising forlarge-scale integrated electronics, and was funded byIntel Corporation in 2003.[9] In 2004, the group was awarded additional funding from theNational Science Foundation for the pursuit of graphene science.[10][11] The first paper, "Two dimensional electron gas properties of ultrathin epitaxial graphite", was presented in March 2004[12] at a meeting of theAmerican Physical Society and published in December under the title, "Ultrathin epitaxial graphite: Two dimensional electron gas properties and a route towards graphene based electronics".[13] This paper, based primarily on data documented in 2003,[8] describes the first electrical measurements of epitaxial graphene, reports fabrication of the first graphenetransistor, and outlines the desirable properties of graphene for use in graphene-based electronics. De Heer and coworkersClaire Berger and Phillip First hold the first patent on graphene-based electronics,[14] provisionally filed in June 2003. The approach championed by De Heer has the advantage of producing graphene directly on a high-quality electronic material (silicon carbide) and does not require isolation or transfer to any other substrate.[13] In 2014, De Heer and co-workers demonstrated exceptional ballistic transport properties of epigraphene nanoribbons on silicon carbide substrate steps.[15] This work was continued and in 2022 the transport was demonstrated to involve a zero-energy edge state with Majorana-fermion-like properties.[16] This novel state is still not theoretically explained. In 2023, De Heer and coworkers demonstrated ultrahigh mobility semiconducting epigraphene.[17]
He was elected aFellow of the American Physical Society in 2003.[18]
In 2006, De Heer was named as one of the "Scientific American 50", a list of individuals/organizations honored for their contributions to science and society during the preceding year.[19] In 2007, he and his research group were awarded the prestigiousW.M. Keck Foundation grant for continuation of work on "nanopatterned epitaxial graphene electronic devices that work at room temperature."[20] De Heer receivedIBM Faculty Awards in 2007[21] and 2008,[22] and his work on graphene transistors was named as one ofTechnology Review's 10 emerging technologies "most likely to change the way we live" in 2008.[23] In September 2009, De Heer was awarded the ACSIN Nanoscience Prize "for his visionary work in developing the field of graphene nanoscience and technology".[24] De Heer has been awarded the 2010Materials Research Society Medal "for his pioneering contributions to the science and technology of epitaxial graphene".[25] Hish-index is currently 97.[26]
The Tianjin International Center for Nanoparticles and Nanosystems (TICNN) is a research institute on the University of Tianjin (TJU) campus that was established in 2015 by De Heer’s ex-postdoc Lei Ma and Walt de Heer, designed by De Heer and constructed by Ma. TICNN has a comprehensive dedicated epigraphene laboratory designed to coordinate with, and complement the Georgia Tech epigraphene effort, with Georgia Tech’s endorsement. De Heer was the TICNN director until 2020. De Heer advised epigraphene research at the TICNN and remotely directed experiments that demonstrated ultrahigh mobility semiconducting epigraphene.[17] The deterioration of US-China relationships in general and the China Initiative specifically, ultimately led to the dissolution of the collaboration.
In November 2010, De Heer wrote[27] to the Nobel prize committee criticising certain inaccuracies of the Scientific Background document relating to the award of theNobel Prize toAndre Geim andKonstantin Novoselov which led to revisions in the Scientific Background document.
Authority control databases: Academics |
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